loprieno graduated from the european school, brussels i, obtaining his european baccalaureate in 1972. he then studied egyptology, linguistics and semitic studies at the university of turin, where he received his doctorate in 1977 and worked until 1981 as a research assistant. he then went to the university of göttingen with a scholarship from the alexander von humboldt foundation and habilitated in 1984. from 1983 to 1986 he was a lecturer at the university of perugia, and from 1984 to 1987 at the university of göttingen.