Phd in STORIA E CULTURE DELL'EUROPA

Research: Public Art and National Identity in the Postsocialist Space

I study the intersection of cultural heritage production and group identity formation across Europe, Eurasia, and West Asia. A graduate of the Hertie School in Berlin (M.A. 2022 magna cum laude, International Affairs), I am a doctoral candidate in History and Cultures of Europe at Università di Roma “La Sapienza” focusing on the relationship between public art and national identity in the postsocialist space. I have a special interest in monumental facade decoration across the former Second World from the medieval period to the 21st century and have conducted fieldwork and documental photography expeditions in Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Germany. My research has been supported by fellowships from the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (2022), the Department of Medieval Studies at Central European University (2022), the Hertie School Centre for International Security (2020-2022), and the U.S.-Russia Program of the U.S. Department of Education (2013). Previously I managed cultural diplomacy initiatives for the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (2018-2019) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2016-2018, 2019-2020), and volunteered for the public programs department of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. (2016-2019). Bilingual in English and French, I also speak Italian, Spanish, German, Latin and Russian.