Alexei J. Cohen was born near the Empire State building and technically has no Italian blood. He fell in love with Italy after the first reel of Federico Fellini’s La Strada and by intermission was planning to follow in Anthony Quinn’s footsteps. After graduation he headed for la dolce vita and found more vita than dolce traveling by bicycle and sleeping on hostel bunk beds. Although the lires eventually ran out he was hooked on al dente for life.

Years later in downtown Manhattan he met an Italian woman who rekindled his interest in mozzarella, Brunelleschi, and leaning towers. They married and a culture that once seemed exotic began to make sense. Italy became a regular holiday destination and new wines and ways of preparing artichokes were discovered. Eventually the couple made the transatlantic leap and after several years in north London they settled under the umbrella pines of Rome.

Alexei’s editorial skills were honed on the pages of Racquet & Golfer, McCall's, and Family Circle. Before leaving Brooklyn he made frequent contributions to TimeOut New York and helped readers find apartments in Hoboken and exotic beer in Soho. In London he rode the dotcom wave and was the launch editor of Fine Wine magazine. He returned to the print world in Rome and joined a publisher specializing in art, culture, and cinema. Since then he has translated, edited, and written several books.

He is currently changing diapers, making the past perfect less daunting to teenagers, and writing a novel set in Italy.