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Research

My DPhil project, Giacomo Leopardi and the Roots of Existentialism, redefines the origins of existentialism by positioning the Italian poet and philosopher Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837) as the initiator of atheistic existentialism.  

 

Selected publications 

Peer-reviewed articles:

  • 'Leopardi in latino', The Italianist (2025): https://doi.org/10.1080/02614340.2025.2504781.
  • 'Infinite or Indefinite? Leopardi’s Infinite through the Lens of Fyodor Dostoevsky', Italian Studies (2024): https://doi.org/10.1080/00751634.2024.2383545. In the top 30 most read articles of all time in Italian Studies (top 3%).
  • 'La traduzione latina dell’Inno ai patriarchi ad opera di Girolamo Picchioni: uno studio stilistico', Rivista Internazionale di Studi Leopardiani (RISL) (2023): https://doi.org/10.7413/1129-9401027.
  • 'Leopardi primo nichilista d'Europa: le letture di Emanuele Severino e Luigi Capitano', Il Contributo (2023). 

Chapters in edited books: 

  • ‘L’esistenzialismo ateo di Giacomo Leopardi’, in Leopardi in Europa, ed. by C. Crocco (Mimesis: Milan-Udine, forthcoming).
  • ‘L’esistenzialismo di Leopardi e l’essenzialismo estremo di Severino.’ Dopo Leopardi. Rifrazioni contemporanee del leopardismo filosofico, ed. by L. Capitano and A. Meccariello (Mimesis: Milan-Udine, 2025).
  • 'La figura di Prometeo nelle riscritture di Leopardi e Pavese', in Contaminazioni leopardiane, ed. by O. A. Calzolari, A. Aloisi, and E. Tandello (Mimesis: Milan-Udine, 2024).

Public engagement:

  • 'How existential philosophy can help you to cope with anguish' in The Conversation (2025). Link.
  • 'La filosofia esistenziale di Giacomo Leopardi', Live Talk on Ermanno Ferretti's YouTube channel (2025). Link.

 

Teaching experience

  • Tutor of Italian, Department of Italian, University of Oxford (2023-2024)

    Course: academic essay writing (undergraduate level).

  • Invited Lecturer, Department of French, UCL (2025)

    Lecture on Albert Camus for undergraduate students.

  • Clarendon Tutor of Philosophy, University of Oxford (2023-2024)

    Biweekly tutorials on ethics and existentialism for visiting undergraduates.

     

Academic administration