I hold a B.A. in Storia, an M.A. in Storia dal medioevo all'età contemporanea, and a B.A. in Lettere (cum laude). I received these degrees from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. I also hold an M.A. in Italian Studies from Florida State University, and an M.A. in Italian Studies from University of Pennsylvania.
Currently, I have been teaching courses at the University of Pennsylvania, and in the past, I have taught at Villanova University, and at Florida State University.
I am currently co-editor of the peer-reviewed journal Bibliotheca Dantesca.
I have also been writing for Focus Storia.
My research interests include the Cinquecento (history, literature, historical linguistics, pedagogy, philology, philosophy, and art history); Italian literature, especially from around 1300 to around 1700; Latin literature (Classical, Medieval and Renaissance); History, especially Italian history and Byzantine history; Historical linguistics; Philology.
My dissertation intends to assess how the Italian vernacular was taught in Italy, England, France, and Spain in the second half of the sixteenth century, focusing on who studied it, and why.
PUBLICATIONS
- Review of “Nel nome di Dante. Diventare grandi con la Divina Commedia”, by Marco Martinelli. Bibliotheca Dantesca, Vol. 3 (2020).
- Review of “Cristoforo Landino. His works and thought”, by Bruce McNair. Bibliotheca Dantesca. Vol. 2 (2019).
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
- University of Pennsylvania
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Currently teaching Intermediate Italian II, Spring 2024.
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Currently teaching Italian Conversation, Spring 2024.
- Rome in Cinema: Representations of the Eternal City, Fall 2023.
- Italian Conversation, Fall 2023.
- Italian for Reading Knowledge, Summer 2023.
- Intermediate Italian II, Spring 2023.
- Business Italian, Fall 2022.
- Intermediate Italian II, Spring 2022.
- Intermediate Italian I, Fall 2021.
- Intermediate Italian II, Spring 2021.
- Intermediate Italian I, Fall 2020.
- Villanova University
- Introductory Italian II, Spring 2022.
- Florida State University
- Italian Reading and Conversation, Summer 2019.
- Italian Reading and Conversation, Spring 2019.
- Elementary Italian II, Spring 2019.
- Italian Reading and Conversation, Fall 2018.
- Italian Reading and Conversation, Fall 2018.
- Elementary Italian II, Summer 2018.
- Elementary Italian II, Spring 2018.
- Elementary Italian II, Spring 2018.
- Elementary Italian I, Fall 2017.
SELECTED ACADEMIC HONORS AND AWARDS
- Penfield Dissertation Research Award, Academic year 2023/2024.
- Graduate Certificate in Global Medieval and Renaissance Studies. May 18, 2022.
- Certificate of Excellence in Teaching. Department of Romance Languages (University of Pennsylvania). April 2022.
CONFERENCES
- “From Yesterday to Today. Teaching Italian in the Sixteenth and Twenty-first Centuries: A Comparative Study”. Innovative Approaches to Equitable and Inclusive Pedagogy/Teaching Language and Content Courses, American Association of Teachers of Italian (AATI) Conference. Università degli Studi di Catania, Italy, July 6, 2023.
- “The Canto XXVIII of Inferno and the Islamic Word”. Newberry Library 2022 Multidisciplinary Graduate Student Conference. Newberry Library, January 29, 2022. On Zoom.
- “The Black Death of 1348: the Decameron as a Possible Source for Two Florentine Chronicles of the Trecento”. Interpretations, Appropriations, and Rewritings of Giovanni Boccaccio. 11th International Montevideana Conference. Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay. June 24, 2021. On Zoom.
- “The Catholic Church and Venice in the Early Modern Period: History and Difference of Two European Conflicts”. Enemies in the Early Modern World, 1453-1789: Conflict, Culture and Control. The University of Edinburgh, March 28, 2021. On Zoom.
- “The Black Death of 1348: the Decameron as a Possible Source for Two Florentine Chronicles of the Trecento”. Apocalyptic Landscapes. From Antiquity to COVID-19. French and Italian Graduate Society (FIGS). University of Pennsylvania, March 20, 2021. On Zoom.