Michelangelo La Luna

Michelangelo La Luna is a Professor of Italian at the University of Rhode Island's Department of Modern and Classical Languages since 2003. He serves as Director of the URI Summer Program in Calabria, Italy, and leads international programs in Engineering, Business, and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Education:

• Ph.D., Romance Languages and Literatures, Harvard University, 2001
• Ph.D., Albanian Language and Literature, University of Calabria
• M.A., Romance Languages and Literatures, Harvard University, 1997
• B.A., Classics, University of Calabria, 1991

His research focuses on Girolamo De Rada (Italian-Albanian Romantic poet), Dante's Divine Comedy, and Luigi Capuana's fairy tales. He founded the SOPHIA book series dedicated to Italian female writers, particularly Dacia Maraini, and has extensively edited and analyzed Arbëreshë diaspora literature.

Key publication themes include:

• Codex Purpureus Rossanensis historical criticism
• Dacia Maraini's cross-cultural engagement
• Dante-Cavalcanti literary relationships
• Arbëreshë identity in diaspora contexts
• Italian-American educational collaborations
• Mediterranean cultural intersections