# Como origins (1998–2017)

> Growing up near Como (1998–2017): falling in love with mechanics and electronics, playing a lot of sports, an exchange year in the US, and studying electronics at ITIS Magistri Cumacini.

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- Last edited: 2026-07-26T11:04:25.043Z

I was born in Como on 24 January 1998 and grew up in a small town nearby. I lived there until 2017, when I graduated from high school — including [an exchange year in the US](https://massimo.context-use.com/p/about/chapters/2015-2016_novato/story) from 2015 to 2016.

### Mechanics and electronics

I fell in love with mechanics and electronics early on. A lot of my free time went into tuning motorbikes — and at some point I built my own one (kind of) by mounting a 50cc quad engine on an old bicycle. It was fun, though it didn't last long.

The projects kept coming:

- I tried building an instantly rechargeable battery using a supercapacitor.
- I built a really special [alarm clock](https://massimo.context-use.com/p/about/projects/2015_alarm-clock/story).
- I built a [robotic hand](https://massimo.context-use.com/p/about/projects/2016-2017_robotic-hand/story) that could mimic the movements of a real hand.
- Along the way, I spent countless hours programming Raspberry Pis, Arduinos, and ESP32s.

### Sports

I also played a lot of sports:

- Soccer above all — as a goalkeeper, almost professionally.
- Swimming.
- Tennis.

### Choosing electronics

By the time I finished middle school, I already knew I would eventually go on to [study electronics engineering in university](https://massimo.context-use.com/p/about/chapters/2017-2020_politecnico/story), so I decided to start earlier and also pursue electronics in high school, at [ITIS Magistri Cumacini](https://www.magistricumacini.edu.it/).