Position	Senior Technologist
Phone (int.)	201
E-mail
	IRIS CNR

Profile

Giovanni Canitano is a Senior Technologist at the Institute for Studies on the Mediterranean (ISMed) of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR).

He holds a degree in Economics and Business from the University of Naples Federico II and has completed two postgraduate specialisations in Stock Exchange and Financial Markets Operations and in Auditing and Financial Statement Certification.

He began his research career in 1995 at the CNR Institute for Wood Technology in San Michele all’Adige (Trento), now the Institute of BioEconomy (IBE). There, he conducted structural and cyclical analyses of the Italian wood and furniture industry and later focused on the characterisation and quality enhancement of wood, with the aim of improving the efficient use of raw materials, promoting sustainable land management, and generating environmental and socio-economic benefits.

At ISMed, his research activities focus on water, food and energy security in Mediterranean countries, ecological and digital transitions, sustainability, the circular economy, peace and science diplomacy, health, and the One Health approach.

Since the beginning of his career, he has specialised in the management of socio-economic statistical databases and is responsible for the updating and further development of the Mediterranean Economies database (DataMed).

He is Head of the Mediterranean Digital Humanities Lab (MDHLab), an interdisciplinary research infrastructure of the CNR aimed at strengthening the digital, data-driven and methodological capacities of ISMed and its scientific partners. He is a member of the Steering Committee of the Digital Humanities Center (DHC) of the Department of Human and Social Sciences, Cultural Heritage (DSU) of the National Research Council of Italy.

He serves as editor of the annual volume Mediterranean Economies, published by Il Mulino for over twenty years, and of the digital publication WeMed. Society, Economy and Environment in the Mediterranean, published by CNR Edizioni in collaboration with Istat. He is Coordinator of the Editorial Committee of the Mediterranean Policy Brief series of the CNR-DSU.

He is a founding member of Club Limes Napoli and serves on its Executive Committee. He is also a member of the Scientific Committee of the “Incontri di Geopolitica” organised by the Club.

At ISMed, he coordinates the Technical-Scientific Secretariat and also serves as Network Administrator, Webmaster and Head of the Institute Library.

Since December 2019, he has been a member of the ISMed Institute Council. From 15 June 2023, he has also collaborated with the CNR Department of Human and Social Sciences, Cultural Heritage (CNR-DSU) as Coordinator of its Technical-Scientific Secretariat.

Profile available on ResearchGate

Publications

Journals Articles 

Irene Bosco, Giovanni Canitano, Food and Water Security in the Mediterranean: Geopolitical Challenges in a Context of Climate Change and Resource Scarcity, in Geopolitica, Il grano e l’acqua. sfide geopolitiche antiche, presenti e future – Wheat and water. ancient, present, and future geopolitical challenges, VOL XIV– N. 2/2025 – Luglio-Dicembre – July-December, ISSN 2009-9193

Valentina Noviello e Giovanni Canitano, Il diritto alla salute e l’umanizzazione delle cure: sviluppi legislativi, approcci olistici e sfide attuative, in I diritti dell’uomo. Cronache e battaglie, anno XXXV, 3, 2024, Editoriale Scientifica, ISSN 1121-8754

Gabriella Esposito, Daniela De Gregorio, Luisa Fatigati, Giovanni Canitano, Alessandra Mancino, Modelli gestionali (processi decisionali) per la pesca sostenibile e la blue growth: strumenti digitali partecipati e inclusivi, in Esposito De Vita, G. (Guest ed.), Mady, C. (Guest ed.), & Ragozino, S. (Guest ed.) (2024). Embracing Public Space and Urban Cultures: Understanding and Acting on Complexity of Contemporary Cities. TRIA, 17(32). https://doi.org/10.6092/2281-4574/11015

Canitano Giovanni, Il posto del Mediterraneo nell’economia mondiale, in Missione oggi, n. 1, Parma, Istituto Saveriano Missioni Estere, 2022, pp.30-32, ISSN: 0392-6389

Saladini, G. Betti, E. Ferragina, F. Bouraoui, S. Cupertino, G. Canitano, M. Gigliotti, A. Autino, F.M. Pulselli, A. Riccaboni, G. Bidoglio, S. Bastianoni, Linking the water-energy-food nexus and sustainable development indicators for the Mediterranean region, in Ecological Indicators, Volume 91, August 2018, Pages 689–697, ISSN 1470-160X

Ferragina Eugenia, Canitano Giovanni, Crise  hydrique, crise alimentaire et bouleversement politique au Maghreb, in Anna Maria Di Tolla & Ersilia Francesca (eds.), Emerging Actors in Post-Revolutionary North Africa. Gender Mobility and Social Activism, special issue of Studi Magrebini XVI/2016, Napoli 2017, pp. 83-100, ISSN: 0585-4954

Ferragina Eugenia, Canitano Giovanni, Le ricadute geopolitiche della crisi alimentare, in AffarInternazionali. Rivista on-line di politica, strategia ed economia, Roma, Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), 2015. ISSN: 2280-9228

Ferragina Eugenia, Canitano Giovanni, Water and Food Security in the Arab Countries : National and Regional Implication, in Global Environment: A Journal of Transdisciplinary History, Isle of Harris, The White Horse Press, 2014, ISSN: 1973-3739

Books

Ferragina Eugenia, Canitano Giovanni, L’eau au Maghreb: contraintes, défis et perspectives, Paris Cedex, Institut français des relations internationales, 2013. ISBN: 978-2-36567-182-8

Edited books

Canitano, G., Capasso, S., Chianese, A., Chianese, R. (edited by). (2026). Innovazione digitale e assistenza domiciliare integrata: Analisi normativa, organizzativa e sperimentazione del modello HOMECARE. Roma, CNR Edizioni. https://doi.org/10.48217/MNGVCN01

Salvatore Capasso e Giovanni Canitano (edited by), Mediterranean Economies 2025. The Mediterranean as a Laboratory of Geoeconomics and Global Transformations, Bologna, il Mulino, 2025

Salvatore Capasso and Giovanni Canitano (edited by) Mediterranean Economies 2024. The New Agenda for the Mediterranean: Perspectives and Challenges, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2025 – (ed. digit.: 2025, doi: 10.978.8815/413758)

Francesca Abate, Giovanni Canitano, Salvatore Capasso, Stefano Carotenuto, Sandro Cruciani, Francesco di Filippo, Luca Forte, Anna Pia Maria Mirto, Marco Ricci, Antonio Rossi (a cura di), WeMed. Società, economia e ambiente nel Mediterraneo. Edizione 2024, Napoli, CNR edizioni, 2024 ISBN: 978-88-8080-702-5 ed. digitale – DOI WeMed 2024: 10.71671/5rg1-jg77

Salvatore Capasso and Giovanni Canitano (edited by), Mediterranean Economies 2023. The impact of the Russia-Ukraine war in the Mediterranean region: the socio-economic consequences, Bologna, il Mulino, 2023, p. 363, ISBN 978-88-15-38778-3

Salvatore Capasso and Giovanni Canitano (edited by), Mediterranean Economies 2021-2022, Bologna, il Mulino, 2022, p. 326, ISBN 978-88-15-29463-0

Salvatore Capasso and Giovanni Canitano (edited by), Mediterranean Economies 2020, Bologna, il Mulino, 2020, p. 398, ISBN 978-88-15-29082-3

Chapters in books

Salvatore Capasso, Giovanni Canitano, Salvatore Tosi, Il ruolo dei partenariati locali per lo sviluppo economico e sociale dei territori, in Forum Leader 2025. Convegno nazionale dei GAL italiani (a cura di Salvatore Tosi), Roma, Cnr Edizioni, 2026

Giovanni Canitano, Irene Bosco, The Geoeconomics of Energy in the Mediterranean: Demand, Supply, and the Nexus between Geopolitical Risk and Energy Security, in Salvatore Capasso e Giovanni Canitano (a cura di), Mediterranean Economies 2025. The Mediterranean as a Laboratory of Geoeconomics and Global Transformations, Bologna, il Mulino, 2025

Salvatore Capasso, Giovanni Canitano, Introduction. The Mediterranean as a Laboratory of Geoeconomics and Global Transformations, in Salvatore Capasso e Giovanni Canitano (a cura di), Mediterranean Economies 2025. The Mediterranean as a Laboratory of Geoeconomics and Global Transformations, Bologna, il Mulino, 2025

Irene Bosco, Giovanni Canitano, Energy Transition and Energy Security in the Mediterranean, in S. Capasso e G. Canitano (a cura di) Mediterranean Economies 2024. The New Agenda for the Mediterranean: Perspectives and Challenges, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2025, pp. 245-272

Irene Bosco, Canitano Giovanni, The Energy Transition in Europe and MENA Countries: An Exploratory Analysis On the Main Energy Sources Demands and Supplies, in Marco Modica, Davide Piacentino (edited by), Conflict Scenarios and Transitions. Opportunities and Risks for Regions and Territories, Bologna, FrancoAngeli, 2024, ISBN 9788835166535, p. 289-303

Bosco Irene, Canitano Giovanni, EU energy dependency on oil and natural gas imports and security of energy supplies: the current situation and possible developments in times of uncertainty caused by the pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war, in Salvatore Capasso and Giovanni Canitano (edited by), Mediterranean Economies 2023. The impact of the Russia-Ukraine war in the Mediterranean region: the socio-economic consequences, Bologna, il Mulino, 2023, p. 9-20, ISBN 978-88-15-38778-3

Capasso Salvatore, Canitano Giovanni, Introduction. Impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on the Mediterranean region: the socio-economic consequences, in Salvatore Capasso and Giovanni Canitano (edited by), Mediterranean Economies 2023. The impact of the Russia-Ukraine war in the Mediterranean region: the socio-economic consequences, Bologna, il Mulino, 2023, p. 113-140, ISBN 978-88-15-38778-3

Forte Luca, Canitano Giovanni, Trade flows and supply chain resilience in the era of the COVID pandemic, in Salvatore Capasso and Giovanni Canitano (edited by), Mediterranean Economies 2021-2022, Bologna, il Mulino, 2022, p. 135-155, ISBN 978-88-15-29463-0

Forte Luca, Canitano Giovanni, Trans-Mediterranean mobility for Italian firms: incentives, evidence and practice, in Salvatore Capasso and Giovanni Canitano (edited by), Mediterranean Economies 2020, Bologna, il Mulino, 2020, pp. 14-179, ISBN 978-88-15-29082-3

Forte Luca, Canitano Giovanni, Lo scenario energetico futuro: area Mena, Europa e Mediterraneo in prospettiva, in Salvatore Capasso (a cura di) Rapporto sulle economie del Mediterraneo, Bologna, il Mulino, 2019, pp. 155-191, ISBN 978-88-15-28438-9

Forte Luca, Canitano Giovanni, Carli Maria Rosaria, Crescita economica, produzione manifatturiera e commercio estero nei paesi del Mediterraneo: differenze e complementarietà tra paesi euromediterranei e paesi della sponda sud ed est del Bacino, in Eugenia Ferragina (a cura di) Rapporto sulle economie del Mediterraneo, Bologna, il Mulino, 2018, pp. 107-136, ISBN 978-88-15-27938-5

Ferragina Eugenia, Canitano Giovanni, Food security in a context of climate change and natural resources scarcity, in Desirée A.L. Quagliarotti, Elena Viganò (a cura di) Mediterranean, the Sea that Unites. New Prospects for the Agri-Food System, Milano, Cisalpino Istituto Editoriale Universitario, 2018, pp. 27-50, ISBN 9788820511050

Canitano Giovanni, Abitudini alimentari e conflitti globali per l’accesso all’acqua, in Geopolitica dell’acqua: nuovi conflitti tra dighe e confini. Treccani. Atlante geopolitico 2015, Roma, Istituto dell’Enciclopedia italiana Treccani, ISBN: 978-88-1200-536-9

Ferragina Eugenia, Canitano Giovanni, Geopolitical Implications of Water and Food Security in Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Countries, in Paciello M. C., Building Sustainable Agriculture for Food Security in the Euro-Mediterranean Area: Challenges and Policy Options, Roma Edizioni Nuova Cultura, 2015. ISBN: 978-88-6812-508-0

Reports

Irene Bosco, Giovanni Canitano, La Geoeconomia dell’Energia nel Mediterraneo: tra Sicurezza e Cooperazione (DSU Mediterranean Policy Brief 1). CNR-Dipartimento di Scienze Umane e Sociali, Patrimonio culturale, 2026, ISSN: 3103-5736, DOI: 10.36134/MPBDSU-2026-1

Bosco, I., Canitano G. (2025). Energia, sicurezza e transizione verde: una roadmap per il Mediterraneo (DSU Policy brief 15). CNR-Dipartimento di Scienze Umane e Sociali, Patrimonio culturale. https://doi.org/10.36134/PBDSU-2025-15

Projects

• Scientific Coordinator for CNR-ISMed of the PN RIC 2021–2027 project SSHOpenCloud-IT, funded under the Italian National Research Programme (PN RIC 2021–2027) with a total budget of €29,225,000 (Ministerial Decree No. 480 of 27/04/2026). Principal Investigator of Task 3.5 – Definition and implementation of a monitoring framework for the multi-level performance assessment of Research Infrastructure services, and Task 5.6 – Policy Intelligence Suite: Territorial Knowledge Graph, AI Dashboards for Public Administration, and Human-AI Toolkit Development, from 27/04/2026, ongoing.
• Principal Investigator of the DUS.AD019.012.002 – Knowledge Based Fishing – Characterisation of Fishing Activities and Fishery Resources in Sicilian Waters to Promote Knowledge-Based Sustainable Fisheries project, from 01/07/2023, ongoing.
• Project Manager of the project Socio-Economic Stability Action in Ghana. Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurial Training for Job Creation in Migration-Affected Areas, funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Protocol No. 14384/2023, Office V – West and Central Africa, Directorate-General for Global Affairs, from 04/01/2023.
• Principal Investigator of the DUS.AD011.055 – Health Economics, Organisation and Management of Healthcare Institutions project, from 01/01/2022, ongoing.
• Principal Investigator of the DUS.AD011.055.001 – Saving through Innovation. Telemedicine and Integrated Home Care for the Reorganisation of Healthcare project, from 01/01/2022, ongoing.
• Member of the CNR-ISMed Research Unit for the project Ageing Well in an Ageing Society (Age-It) – Spoke 6 – The Silver Economy. Work, Participation and Welfare at Older Ages (Project Code: PRR.AP021.001), funded in 2022 by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR), for a 36-month period starting on 01/12/2022 and extendable until 28/02/2026.
• Communication Manager of the project Promoting Resilience and Employability in uniVersity (PREVIEW), Erasmus+ Call 2022 Round 1 KA220-HED – Cooperation Partnerships in Higher Education (Grant Agreement No. 2022-1-IT02-KA220-HED-000088742), since 15/09/2022.
• Member of the working and research group for the GuidAbilità project, carried out under the cooperation agreement between ACSI and CNR-ISMed, from 01/11/2022 to the end of 2023.
• Participant in the T.I.P.A. – Innovative Thermoplastics for Aeronautics project, from 01/10/2017 to 31/12/2021.
• Participant in the Territory, Environment and Landscape project, from 01/01/2016, ongoing.
• Participant in the project Divides, Interconnections and Contaminations in the Mediterranean: Politics, Economy and Environment, from 01/01/2016 to 2021.
• Principal Investigator of the project for the Enhancement of Furniture and Technical Equipment of the ISSM Library, funded by the Campania Regional Government, awarded by Executive Decree No. 30 of 31/03/2017.
• Participant in the TOD – Home-Based Oncology Therapies project, from 31/10/2017 to 30/10/2019.
• Participant in the Sustainable Fisheries and Biodiversity Conservation project, from 29/08/2017 to 30/04/2019.
• Principal Investigator of the project for the Enhancement and Development of the ISSM Library Collections, funded by the Campania Regional Government, awarded by Executive Decree No. 28 of 14/04/2016.
• Principal Investigator of the SBNWeb Cataloguing of the ISSM Library project, funded by the Campania Regional Government (Call No. 43 of 06/08/2014), awarded by Executive Decree No. 101 of 24/12/2014.
• Principal Investigator of the SBNWeb Cataloguing of the ISSM Library project, funded by the Campania Regional Government (Call No. 475 of 31/12/2013), awarded by Executive Decree No. 21 of July 2014.
• Participant in the Safety Link for Sea-Land Logistics project, from 14/10/2013 to 31/12/2017.
• Participant in the project Governance Models, Reconfiguration and Monitoring of Port and Inland Logistics Activities, from 14/10/2013 to 31/12/2017.
• Participant in the SMART TUNNEL – Intelligent Logistics Services Platform for Port Cities project, from 05/05/2012 to 31/12/2015.
• Participant in the project Communication Technologies for Enhancing the Agri-Food and Wine Supply Chains (POMOVINO), from 01/07/2012 to 31/10/2015.
• Participant in the LEADER II – Enhancement of Timber Production in the Municipalities of Folgaria, Lavarone and Luserna project, from 01/01/2000 to 31/12/2000.
• Participant in COST Action E10 – Wood Properties for Industrial Use, from 04/12/1998 to 31/12/2000.
• Participant in the PAT/ITL project Qualification of Trentino Timber and Training of Forestry Operators, from 20/10/1997 to 20/10/1998.
• Participant in the AIR1 CT 92 291 – Characterisation, Evaluation and Development of Performance-Based Tests for Wood-Based Panels for Structural and Non-Structural Applications project, from 01/03/1995 to 15/02/1996.