Matteo Pugliese was born in Milan in 1969. In 1978 his family moved to Sardinia and lived there for the next 12 years. During this time he developed a strong love for drawing and sculpture and practiced without formal education. After finishing his secondary school studies in classics in Cagliari, he returned to Milan to attend university. In 1995 he was awarded his degree in modern literature at the University of Milan with a graduation thesis on art criticism.

Models present creations by fashion design students of the Taiwanese Shih Chien university at the Berlin Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2016 in Berlin, Germany, January 22, 2016. (Photo by Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters)

An attendee at the “Eating Insects Detroit: Exploring the Culture of Insects as Food and Feed” conference at Wayne State University shows an edible freeze-dried locust insect in Detroit, Michigan May 26, 2016. (Photo by Rebecca Cook/Reuters)

The first four finalists are selected during the 66th Miss Universe pageant at Planet Hollywood hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 26, 2017. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Reuters)

Gifts for the homeless are handed out during Santa Bar Crawl, Oxford, England on December 5, 2017. Here: Oxford university students on a Santa-themed pub crawl. (Photo by Greg Blatchford/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Gigi Gorgeous presents a creation during the American Heart Association's (AHA) Go Red For Women Red Dress Collection, presented by Macy's at New York Fashion Week February 11, 2016. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

People cheer as the ball drops at midnight in Times Square on January 1, 2015 in New York City. An estimated one million people from around the world are expected to pack Times Square to ring in 2015. (Photo by Andrew Theodorakis/Getty Images)

U.S. first lady Melania Trump steps out of her motorcade vehicle as she departs Washington for a tour of several African countries from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., October 1, 2018. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Reuters)