Ilaria Luzzana Caraci was born in Pisa, the beautiful Tuscan city in Italy, famous for its Piazza dei Miracoli (Miracles Square). Her career brought her to Rome, where she taught History of Exploration at the University and researched and wrote several historical books.
Caraci’s scientific interests have focused on historical-geographical disciplines, especially on two lines of research: the history of geography and the history of explorations, with particular attention to the Italian contribution in the period of great geographical explorations.
She founded and directed the Italian Center for Historical-Geographical Studies, the European Society for the Studies on Geographical Explorations and Discoveries, and the magazine "Geostorie". She traveled extensively through Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. In pursuit of her research, she also visited several cities in the United States.
Caraci is happily married with two sons and a lovely little nephew. In her free time she paints, plays the piano, and goes sailing with her husband. She loves life, the company of friends, her little dog Zip, the mountains, and good food.