Laura Banella

Dr. Laura Banella is an Assistant Professor of Italian and Fabiano Collegiate Chair in Italian Studies at the University of Notre Dame, USA. She holds a PhD in Romance Studies from Duke University (2018) and a Doctorate in Italian Literature from the University of Padova (2014). Her research focuses on medieval and early modern Italian literature, particularly Dante and Boccaccio, with an emphasis on material philology, lyric poetry, and the history of literary criticism. She was a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow at the University of Oxford for the LyrA project (2018–2020), exploring the reception and canonization of Dante’s lyric poetry through manuscripts and early printed editions. Her work examines how medieval and early modern editors shaped literary canons and authorial authority.

Education:

• PhD in Romance Studies, Duke University, 2018
• Doctorate in Italian Literature, University of Padova, 2014
• Studies at the University of Pisa and Scuola Normale Superiore

Research Interests:

• Material philology and manuscript studies
• Dante’s lyric poetry and its reception
• Boccaccio’s editorial practices
• Gender and authorship in medieval literature
• Early modern literary anthologies and canons

Recent Work: Her articles analyze Dante’s lyric communities, prison manuscripts as performative texts, and Boccaccio’s portrayal of female authorship. She co-edits volumes on lyric communities and has organized conferences on topics such as lyric poetry and conflict. Her monographs include Rime e libri delle rime di Dante tra Medioevo e primo Rinascimento (2020) and La ‘Vita nuova’ del Boccaccio (2017).

Awards: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship (2018–2020) for the LyrA project.