Curriculum
Francesca Hartmann conducts research in the fields of Italian literature, rhetoric and the teaching of literature, with a particular focus on argumentative processes, forms of cultural communication, and the relationships between literary texts, education and contemporary discursive practices. Her research focuses specifically on the Italian narrative tradition from the Middle Ages to the modern era, primarily on Boccaccio and Casanova studies, representations of the feminine, and the rhetorical dynamics of literary discourse, with interdisciplinary connections to the symbolic language of food and advertising communication. Among the authors most frequently studied are Giovanni Boccaccio, Alessandro Manzoni, Giacomo Casanova, Alberto Moravia and Dino Buzzati.
Education
She obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Modern Literature from the University of Bologna in 2021 and subsequently a Master’s degree in Italian Studies from the same university with a grade of 110/110 cum laude, presenting a thesis entitled Didactics of Literature and Empathy. A multidisciplinary study in the classroom and at university, under the supervision of Bruno Capaci. Her previous three-year research project focused on the relationship between Dante and Ungaretti, with a thesis entitled Ungaretti’s Dantism: the dialogue and comparison between the two poets, under the supervision of Angelo Maria Mangini. She obtained her school-leaving certificate from the Francesco Cicognini Classical High School. She is qualified to teach in the AM12 and AS12 teaching categories.
Academic career
She is currently a PhD student in Humanities, Technology and Society at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. Her research project is entitled *If you love rightly, you can do only good*. An ethical interpretation of the Decameron as an etiquette of behaviour through the Digital Humanities proposes an ethical and social reinterpretation of Boccaccio’s masterpiece, exploring the relationship between the Decameron and the world of etiquette—understood as a form of respect and care for others—and the role that ethos, pathos and logos – the three technical elements of rhetoric – play in defining the humanity or inhumanity of a behaviour through the choice of specific linguistic and rhetorical-argumentative strategies. At the University of Bologna, she has been a subject specialist in Italian Literature (L-FIL-LET/10) since 2023 and a teaching tutor in the Department of Classical and Italian Philology for the course in Italian Literature Teaching since 2025. She also provides support for university teaching as a subject specialist on the course ‘Literary Gastronomy and Other Narratives on Food’ within the Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Gastronomy Sciences and Cultures in Cesena.
Teaching activities
She regularly undertakes university tutoring and thesis supervision in the fields of Italian literature, rhetoric and the teaching of literature, supervising research projects focusing on the Italian literary tradition, the language of women and contemporary argumentative processes. At the same time, she has gained experience in teaching humanities in both primary and secondary schools, alongside educational support activities and the organisation of Third Mission events.
Academic activities
She regularly participates in the organisation and delivery of national and international conferences, seminars and academic initiatives, with a particular focus on rhetorical studies, risk communication, legal literature and Casanova studies. These include ‘Tutti A Scuola’, an educational exchange between university students and sixth-formers which, conceived and launched in 2022 and then in 2023 and 2025, is celebrating its fourth edition this year. She has taken part in academic initiatives in collaboration with European institutions, including the Department of Italian Studies in Warsaw, the German Centre for Venetian Studies and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
Membership of scientific and editorial committees
She is co-editor of the A-level journal *DNA - Di Nulla Academia*, for which she also serves as Journal Manager, and is co-editor of the *Retorica Argomentazione Linguistica* series. She was a member of the scientific committee for the international conference dedicated to Giacomo Casanova’s correspondence with women and is involved in editorial and publishing activities within the field of humanities scholarship.
Publications
She is the author of scholarly articles on the Decameron, the rhetoric of collective deliberation, the judicial novel and argumentative dynamics in the Italian literary tradition. Notable among her recent publications is the volume *I Casanova. Una famiglia d’arte nel secolo XVIII* (The Casanovas: An Artistic Family in the 18th Century), edited with Bruno Capaci and published by Pàtron Editore.
Other activities
Alongside her academic work, she contributes as a writer to the independent newspaper *Pratosfera*, where she publishes cultural and literary articles.
