Franco Fichera was born in Frosinone, Italy, on June 13th, 1941, and graduated in 1965 from the Faculty of Law at the Federico II University of Naples.

In 1966 he was appointed as a volunteer assistant to the Chair of Finance and Financial Law, at the Faculty of Law at the Federico II University of Naples.

In 1969, after an open selection, he qualified for the post of assistant professor to the Chair of Finance and Financial Law at the Faculty of Law, Federico II University, Naples.

Also in 1969 he qualified as an attorney at law.

In 1970 he won a scholarship from the DAAD for a four-month study period at the Institute of Tax Law, at the University of Hamburg in the Federal Republic of Germany, where in 1971 he carried out research on the non-fiscal role of taxes.

In 1971 he was appointed assistant professor of Finance and Financial Law, at the Faculty of Law of the Federico II University in Naples.

In 1977 he was appointed lecturer in Tax Law at the Faculty of Economics and Commerce at the University of Bari. The appointment was renewed in the subsequent years.

In 1979 he won a scholarship from the DAAD, and carried out research for a period of four months at the Freie Universität in Berlin in the field of political institutions, focusing especially on the German context.

In 1982, he conducted research on institutional policy for a period of two months in the U.S. at Harvard University, Cambridge, and focused especially on the American context.

In 1982 he passed the open selection for associate professor with the Tax Law department and, from the same year, taught comparative tax systems full-time with the Faculty of Law at the Federico II University of Naples.

In 1984 he carried out research for a period of four months in Pittsburgh at the Carnegie-Mellon University and the University of California at Berkeley (USA) on aspects of the national budget, with particular regard to the American context.

In 1986 he conducted research on the institutional profiles of budgetary policies at the Freie Universität Berlin for a period of two months.

In 1988 he conducted research on tax breaks for a period of four months, focusing on Tax Expenditures Theory developed from the doctrine of American Tax Law, at Boston College Law School, Boston, USA.

In 1991 he conducted research on tax preferences for a period of two months with particular reference to the Spanish context at the Universidad de Salamanca, Facultad de Derecho, Seminario de Derecho Financiero y Tributario.

In 1991, he conducted research for a period of two months in the field of tax relief, especially EC tax law, at the Court of Justice of the European Communities in Luxembourg.

He was Professor of Tax Law with the Faculty of Economics, at the University of Bologna. First deputising from 1992 to 1994, and then as chair holder from 1996 to 2001. This was a full-time teaching post.

During the academic year 1993-94 and in subsequent years, he taught a course in Community Tax Law at the School of Specialization in Law and Economics of the European Communities, at the Federico II University of Naples.

In 1994 he spent a period of time studying Community tax law at the IBFD, the International  Bureau of Fiscal Documentation, in Amsterdam, Holland.

In the period from 1st to 30th November 1999, he was invited by Professor José Luis Pérez de Ayala y López de Ayala University S. Pablo CEU di Madrid, Faculdad de CC. Jurídicas y de la Administración, Departamento de Disciplinas Económico-Financieras, to conduct seminars, lectures and talks on topics relating to Community tax law, particularly with regard to questions of EU taxation, tax harmonization and incentives.

In 2000 he qualified after an open selection for a professorship at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Venice, in disciplinary field IUS 12, (Tax Law).

From November 2001 to October 31, 2011 he taught as full professor of Tax Law at the Faculty of Law of the Suor Orsola Benincasa University in Naples. This was a full-time teaching post. On 31st October 2011 he left the chair on reaching retirement age.

In November 2003, he was elected Dean of the Faculty by the Board of the Faculty of Law  of the Suor Orsola Benincasa University of Naples. This position was renewed in 2006 and 2009. This mandate expired on his reaching retirement age on October 31, 2011.

From November 2011 to 31 October 2012 he taught Tax Law at the Faculty of Law of the Suor Orsola Benincasa University of Naples as adjunct professor.

In connection with international relations, he participated as a speaker at the Jornadas Colombianas de Derecho Tributario, which were held in Cartagena, and then the events taking place at the Institute of Financial and Tax Law at the Universidad del Rosario de Bogotá in February 2003. The events concerned tax relief and the application of taxes for purposes not solely related to fiscal revenue.

In the context of the Socrates-Erasmus program, conventions were signed with professors Eusebio Gonzalez Garcia, who taught financial and tax law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Salamanca, Daniel Gutman who teaches tax law at the Faculty of Law of the Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris I) University in Paris, and Fernando Serrano Antón who teaches  financial and tax law at the Faculty of Law at the Complutense University of Madrid.

He was co-director, with Michele Cantillo, of a second level master’s degree in tax law “The training of the defence counsel and the tax judge” set up in 2003 at the Faculty of Law of the Suor Orsola Benincasa University of Naples. The masters course, designed specifically to train defence counsel and tax judges, distinguished itself by adopting an innovative method for the study of tax issues not only for litigation purposes but also at substantive level, in line with the methods currently in use in other countries of the European Union. Teaching was, in fact, based on taxation case law, calling as speakers the leading experts in tax law, primarily academics, experienced practitioners and tax judges. The Master ended with the 2010-2011 academic year in its eighth run.

Prof. Fichera is a member of the academic staff on the PhD in Tax Law directed by prof. Francesco Tesauro at the University of Milan Bicocca. The following universities are part of the PhD programme: Milano-Bicocca, Milan State, Milan Catholic, Pavia, Turin, Trieste, Modena, Varese Insubria, Castellanza, Suor Orsola Benincasa University, and the University of Calabria.

From 2005 to 2011 he directed, together with Francesco De Sanctis, the series of “Lezioni Magistrali”, published by Editoriale Scientifica, Naples.

From 2007 to 2011 he directed, together with Francesco De Sanctis, the series “Iurisprudentia” published by Editoriale Scientifica, Naples.

He has been a member of the editorial committee of the journal of tax law “Rassegna tributaria”since 2007.

He has been retired since 2011.