Pier Mario Vescovo

Pier Mario Vescovo is Full Professor of Performing Arts at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, serving also as Department Delegate for the Third Mission within the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage. Based at the Malcanton Marcorà location, he maintains office hours on Tuesday mornings and directs a prolific research agenda that spans Italian literature, theatre history, and performing arts from the Renaissance to the contemporary period.

Education:

• His extensive scholarly career is rooted in the philological and critical study of Italian dramatic literature, with foundational training in Italian philology and theatre studies.

Research Interests:
Professor Vescovo’s work centres on the intersection of text, performance, and cultural memory. He explores the evolution of the dramatic genre in Italy, from Dante’s Comedy to Goldoni’s reformist comedies and Gozzi’s fantastical fairy-tales. His investigations span Renaissance dialect theatre, the iconography of performance in Venetian painting, and the legal and ethical dimensions embedded in early modern drama. He also engages with translation studies, examining how Italian texts migrate across languages and media, and with the anthropology of theatre, drawing on Warburgian approaches to ritual and celebration.

Recent monographs such as In the Decrees of Venice (2023) and The Uncertain End (2020) foreground his interest in law, plague, and theatrical representation, while critical editions of Goldoni and Gozzi demonstrate his commitment to textual philology. His articles scrutinise everything from Shakespearean jurisprudence to the comic mechanics of Pulcinella, revealing an abiding concern for how literature stages social and political tensions.

Scientific Awards & Recognition:

• While no specific awards are listed, his sustained publication record with leading Italian and international presses, extensive editorial work, and frequent invitations to contribute to collective volumes and exhibitions testify to his scholarly distinction.

Advising & Grants:
Details of individual doctoral or master’s students are not provided in the text; however, his role as Department Delegate for the Third Mission implies oversight of knowledge-transfer projects and public-engagement initiatives that likely involve graduate training.

Laboratories & Teams:
Professor Vescovo’s research is conducted within the broader intellectual community of the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage, which hosts seminars, conferences, and collaborative projects on Italian culture. His editorial and curatorial activities suggest coordination with librarians, archivists, and museum professionals across Venice and beyond.