About Me
I was born and raised in Trento, Italy. Before entering the academia I worked in different private companies and also served in a NATO peace-keeping mission in Albania in 2001.I earned my Doctoral Degree in European History (2014) from the Department of History at West Virginia University under the direction of Dr. Joshua Arthurs and Dr. Robert Blobaum. At West Virginia University I also earned a MA in Public Policy (2010) from the Department of Political Science. In Italy I studied Sociology and international affairs at University of Trento receiving a MA in International and European Studies (2007) as well as a BA in Society, Politics, and European Institutions (2004).
Scholarly Interests
Over the years my interests have evolved from the realm of intellectual history to the field of international and political history. While in the past I focused on totalitarianism as a political ideology, my most recent primary fields of research are the history of ethnic politics and nationalism; borderland identities; post-war Italy; and Cold War Europe. I am currently preparing a manuscript of my dissertation, “Between the Local and the National: the Free Territory of Trieste, “Italianità,” and the Politics of Identity from the Second World War to the Osimo Treaty.” This project focuses on the Italian government’s instrumental use of territorial claims over the contested Adriatic city of Trieste. While my work re-frames the image of Trieste both as a wall and bridge of the Cold War, it also broadly investigates the issue of political violence, anti-Communist propaganda, and the trajectory of ideas of nationhood in Cold War Italy. While focusing on the former Italian-Yugoslav border my research ultimately aims to provide valuable insight into the long-term legacy of the confrontational logic of the Cold War in post-war Europe.
Working within the broader field of political history I also explore current phenomena such as right-wing political extremism and the rise of populist movements in twentieth century Europe, especially the Mediterranean region. While studying Cold War Italy, I examine the complex relationships between right-wing political formations and their institutional referents to enhance our understanding of both the reasons and modalities by which a network of political actors promoted collective fear of an impending Slav-Communist threat over Italy’s eastern border. The analysis of the Italian case, therefore, becomes a means to investigate the broader issue of the public use of national patriotism in borderland regions and its detrimental effects on the process of sociopolitical reconciliation in contexts of post-war reconstruction. Being a historian with a strong background in international affairs, my interests further extend to the process of European integration, regime change in post-war Europe, and transatlantic relations. I am especially interested in Southeastern Europe and the former Yugoslavia, a region that I have extensively studied during both my Bachelor and Master's Degrees. While investigating the "Balkans" I thoroughly analyzed the role of the European Community in the Yugoslav wars of succession, a topic which I am currently further exploring. To learn more about my interests and current research please visit my research page. I am sharing some of my former conference and research papers through academia.edu and I always welcome comments and suggestions.