MARIA CHIARA GIORDA is an Associate Professor of History of Religions at the Department of Humanities at Roma Tre University in Rome. She earned a PH.D. in Religious Studies at École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris (2007) with a dissertation about monasticism in Late Antique Egypt (5th-7th c.). Her research interests are focused on the history of monasticism, geography of religions, religion and urban spaces, and shared religious places.