Rosa was born on 8 May 1932. He studied at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa. Rosa had taught early modern history at the Universities of Lecce, Bari, Pisa, La Sapienza of Rome and finally at the
Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa, where he served also as deputy-director and where he was actually
emeritus. Rosa also taught as
professeur invité at the
École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris. He was of the
Accademia nazionale dei Lincei. His research concerned the religious history of the 18th century, the ecclesiastical, cultural and religious history between 16th and 17th centuries, the history of science, academia and libraries. Rosa died on 24 December 2022, at the age of 90. ==Bibliography (selected)==