Patrizia battilani has a degree in Economics and Management and a research doctorate in Political economy during which she spent 6 months at the London School of Economics as visiting student.

Since 2002, she is professor in Economic history at the University of Bologna. In July 2013 she developed research activities at the university of Sidney and in 2017-2018 at the University of Glasgow, as visiting scholar.

She works on Innovation in cultural tourism and she sits on the Advisory Board of the Journal of Tourism History (Taylor and Francis publisher). Since 2012 she has been Director of the Degree Programme in Tourism Economics of the University of Bologna. In October 2014, on the occasion of the Council of Europe Cultural Routes Annual Advisory Forum, she participated in the drafting of the Baku Declaration with respect to Cultural routes as drivers for sustainable social and economic development.

In addition she extensively publish on business history issues. Since 2014 she sits on the Scientific Board of the Postgraduate Master in Economics of cooperative enterprises at the University of Bologna.

Since 2018 she head the Cast, the Center for advanced studies in tourism of the Bologna University.

Expert in the relations between cultural heritage management and tourism for the promotion of intercultural dialogue, global understanding and peace. Researcher of the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations (Coventry University, UK) and Ambassador-at-large of the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT, New York). He is also IIPT Special Envoy to Iran, where he founded the IIPT-Iran Chapter. He was adviser of the ASCIP Dante Alighieri’s executive board for activities of cultural diplomacy in Portugal. He has a long experience also as a consultant for public and private organisations in the context of tourism development based on cultural heritage and public participation. and he was observer member of the Portuguese Steering Committee for HERITY - World Organisation for the Certification of Quality Management of Cultural Heritage, recognised by UNESCO and UNWTO. He is author of several scientific and non-scientific articles and member of different scientific committees for the organisation of international scientific events worldwide. He served as international volunteer in the context of the European Volunteer Service, and then in several other campaigns in Serbia, Bosnia, Albania, Ecuador, Bangladesh and Iran, among others. He supports the UN Refugees Agency as well as UNICEF, and he belongs to the international UN Volunteers database, to serve in UN missions of Humanitarian Assistance and UN peacekeeping operation.

Professor Ferenc Tóth (1967) is a senior research fellow of the Institute of History at the Research Centre for the Humanities (formerly RC of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences). His research areas include the history of conflicts between Christianity and Islam (especially Turkish Wars in Hungary in 17th and 18th Centuries), the history of French-Hungarian Connections in the early modern Period (1664-1815), Hungarian orientalists during the 18th Century and the history of the activity of Hungarian agents in French service (for example François baron de Tott). He has published 25 books and over 200 studies including 'Ascension sociale et identité nationale. Intégration de l'immigration hongroise dans la société française au cours du XVIIIe siècle (1692-1815)', Budapest (Officina Hungarica IX), 2000, 'Saint-Gotthard 1664, Une bataille européenne', Panazol (Ed. Lavauzelle), 2007, 'Un diplomate militaire français en Europe orientale à la fin de l’ancien régime. François de Tott (1733-1793)', Istanbul (Editions Isis), 2011, he also published the memoirs of Baron de Tott in both French and Hungarian editions.