Carmen Belmonte

Carmen Belmonte is an Assistant Professor of Museology, History of Art Criticism and Conservation at the University of Padua, where she coordinates the research unit "Decolonizing Italian Visual and Material Culture" within the SPAZIDENTITÀ project (2022–2026), co-funded by the École Française de Rome.

Her academic background includes:

• B.A. in Art History, University of Calabria (2004)
• M.A. in Art History, University of Calabria (2007)
• Diploma di Specializzazione in Art History, University of Pisa (2011)
• Ph.D. in Art History, University of Udine (2017)

Dr. Belmonte specializes in the visual culture of Italian colonialism and fascism, with research spanning postcolonial theory, 19th-20th century Italian art and photography, exhibition history, and cultural heritage management in post-disaster contexts. Her work critically examines how fascist-era monuments and colonial legacies persist in contemporary Italian society.

Her scholarly contributions have been recognized through competitive fellowships at premier institutions including the Bibliotheca Hertziana, American Academy in Rome, and Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz:

• Max Planck Institute fellowships (2017-2021)
• Columbia University's Italian Academy fellowship (2020)

She demonstrates significant leadership through organizing the 2019 conference "A Difficult Heritage" at the Bibliotheca Hertziana and editing its subsequent publication, alongside managing the multi-institutional SPAZIDENTITÀ project. Her current research team actively decolonizes Italian visual culture within national identity construction frameworks from the Cisalpine Republic to Fascism's end.