Currently a “Professore a contratto” at the universities of Bologna and Padua, he holds the Italian National Scientific Qualification, at the rank of Associate Professor, for two discipline areas: General Italian Literature, and Italian Linguistics and Philology. His primary specialization is in Medieval and Renaissance Italian Literature and Culture, in a transnational perspective. He also has research interests, publications, and teaching experience in Modern and Contemporary Italian Literature and Cinema, as well as Italian Linguistics.
Education
After his “Laurea in Lettere Moderne” (Honors Thesis) at the University of Padua (advisor Manlio Pastore Stocchi), he earned a “Dottorato di ricerca in Italianistica e Filologia Classico-Medievale” (Italian Ph.D) at Ca’ Foscari University, Venice (advisor Gino Belloni), and a Ph.D. in Italian Studies at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia).
Academic Career
From 2007 to 2013 he has been Teaching Assistant, Instructor, and Visiting Lecturer (Italian Language, Literature, and Culture; Cinema and Television Studies; French) at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia). From 2013 to 2023 he has been Faculty Lecturer, Assistant Teaching Professor and Associate Teaching Professor of Italian at the Pennsylvania State University. He is currently “Professore a contratto” (Adjunct Professor) at the University of Bologna, Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, and at the University of Padua (Dipartimento di Filosofia, Sociologia, Pedagogia e Psicologia Applicata, and Dipartimento di Studi Linguistici e Letterari).
Teaching Experience
From 2008 to 2023 he taught literature, culture, and cinema courses, as well as language classes at all levels at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) and at the Pennsylvania State University. Currently, he teaches “Italian Language” at the University of Bologna (second cycle degree / two year master: “I-Contact – International Cooperation on Human Rights and Intercultural Heritage”), as well as “Linguistica e Letteratura italiana” (Italian Linguistics and Literature) and “Italian Literature in the Middle Ages” at the University of Padua.
Research Activity
He is the author of the book Pedagogia e corte nel Rinascimento italiano ed europeo (Pedagogy and Courtly Life in the Italian and European Renaissance, Marsilio, 2016), and he edited the facsimile edition of the commentary upon Petrarch’s Canzoniere published in 1476 by the Italian humanist Francesco Filelfo (Ente Nazionale Francesco Petrarca / Antilia, 2018). Several articles appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as Studi petrarcheschi, Lettere italiane, and Petrarchesca. He presented the results of his research in numerous national and international conferences (United States, Canada, Europe, Italy). In 2021, he has been an invited speaker for the prestigious Lectura Petrarce, organized annually (since 1981) by the Accademia Galileiana di Scienze Lettere ed Arti in Padua.
Awards and Fellowships
2016 – Teaching Excellence Award (The Pennsylvania State University)
2007-2011 – Ben Franklin Fellowship (University of Pennsylvania)
Other Activities
Journalist: January 2002-present; “giornalista pubblicista” since February 2006
