Mariano Rocchi obtained his degree in biology from the University of Rome in 1975. Then he held positions at The Pediatric Hospital in Trieste and (1976-1984) and the Gaslini Institute in Genoa (1984-1988). In 1989 he was a visiting scientist at the Wayne State University in Detroit. In this period he extensively used somatic cell hybrid technology for human gene mapping. In 1990 he moved to the University of Bari as full professor in Genetics. He has focused his recent research on the analysis of chromosomal rearrangements in evolution (karyotype evolution of primates in particular). The main achievement was the discovery of a biological phenomenon, called “centromere repositioning” consisting in the evolutionary movement of the centromere along the chromosome without any accompanying chromosomal rearrangements. This unusual centromere behavior is now well documented in a large array of taxa, in particular, primates. It was also shown that some centromeres that “moved” during evolution have an intriguing connection with a related phenomenon: human clinical neocentromeres.