Legion of the Damned

Nilson Bernardi Ferreira has never been content to read history from a distance. From the age of fifteen, dissatisfied with the gaps he found in standard history books, he began compiling his own technical guides on armaments and military tactics—the first drafts, in a sense, of a career that would never quite sit still.
He studied geology at the University of São Paulo, holds a postgraduate specialisation in archaeology, and trained in hospitality and gastronomy across Europe and South America. From these three very different disciplines he built a single, restless practice: three decades of fieldwork in some of Brazil’s most inhospitable environments, leading speleological surveys for major mining and energy projects, and publishing research on karst geology still cited today. Working in hotels and restaurants across Austria, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom gave him something no library could: the freedom to walk the ground.
He walked the shores of Lake Trasimene where Hannibal’s trap was sprung. He stood on the slopes above Monte Cassino. He traced the retreat lines along the River Po. A lifelong collector of militaria and the owner of a personal library of nearly 30,000 volumes, he brings to every battlefield the eye of a scientist and the instincts of someone who has spent a lifetime handling the physical traces of the past.
Exploring Europe’s Ancient Battlefields covers seventeen decisive engagements from Marathon to the Catalaunian Plains, and is the first volume in a series. A companion guide to the medieval period is already underway, as is a broader work mapping seventy-seven sites across the continent. Food and War examines how the logistical demands of feeding armies—from Roman legions to modern campaigns—quietly shaped the global food supply. Docile Hands and The Kingdom of Rot are further works in progress, extending his research into darker and less charted territory.
He is also the author of Legion of the Damned, a historical horror novel following a unit of vampires forged in the court of Alexander the Great, who survive across the centuries by fighting in humanity’s bloodiest conflicts—from Cannae to the salt mines of Soledar in 2023. The novel was selected as a finalist for the 13Horror.com Award 2025/26, recognising excellence in horror literature.
His short story “Tupayaku” was selected for the SUBSOLO 8th Annual Anthology 2026, and his chronicle “Peão, César e o Feiticeiro Falido” was published in Editora Lontra’s anthology Recortes de Outros Dias. A chronicles collection is forthcoming with Editora Caravana Ouro Preto.
He is the founder of Ars Explorandi, an agency for scientific-historical expeditions, and divides his time between the Veneto region of Italy and Brazil.