He then studied musicology at the University of Rome, graduating with a thesis on Hanns Eisler.
From 1968 to 1972 he lived in Cologne where he studied with Karlheinz Stockhausen, Henri Pousseur, Mauricio Kagel, Dieter Schnebel, and Frederic Rzewski at the Cologne Courses for New Music, and with Bernd Alois Zimmermann at the Hochschule für Musik.
His vocal-symphonic composition "Italia mia" was first performed at Milan’s La Scala in February 2012.
He is married with Miriam Meghnagi and divides his time between the Lake Albano (Rome) and Tel Aviv.
Lombardi became an Israeli citizen : "as a small sign of solidarity with a land whose very existence stands in question".