studied law and then worked as a journalist in Milan, Paris, London and Vienna. In 1954 he entered the diplomatic service; from 1977-1983 he was director-general of cultural affairs at the Foreign Ministry and from 1985-1989 ambassador in Moscow. As a historian, he taught at the universities of Florence, Sassari, Pavia, Berkeley and Harvard. Romano wrote numerous book and studies on modern French and Italian history; he also published widely on Europa, the Soviet-Union and the Cold War.