CEA GlobalCampus: Florence Faculty

Simone Anselmi

Simone Anselmi is an Italian with ten years experience in consulting, training and coaching, and five years experience in Organizations as an account and marketing executive. A speaker of Italian, English and Spanish, Simone graduated in Economics and Statistics at the University of Florence, he has an MBA, (SDA Bocconi, Milan) and a Certificate in Marketing/Advertising (NYU, New York). He is also Trainer certified with NLP, after NLP Practitioner and Master level degree.

He is one of the founders of the Italian coach federation (FIC), the Italian chapter of the International coach federation (ICF). He is also author of various training manuals and check-up analysis tests in areas of competence. At the moment he works as a trainer, consultant and business coach mostly with entrepreneurs and medium – large organizations on issues related to marketing and sales process, interpersonal communication, leadership and public speaking.

He has developed also a significant teaching experience in different American University undergraduate programs. His undergraduate level teaching includes Marketing courses for Lorenzo de' Medici in Florence and marketing, entrepreneurship and international business at Syracuse University campus in Florence. While his graduate level teaching experience includes Business Planning courses for the Polimoda Masters program in Fashion and Beauty and International Sales Management courses for the Masters program in International Management at the European School of Economics, Lucca.

He was a junior level soccer player and was a kids' soccer coach, and worked as a teacher of traditional Cuban dances after a degree obtained Havana, Cuba.

Dr. Erika Bianchi

Dr. Erika Bianchi has been teaching Classics and Roman History since 2005. She has been a guest lecturer for American study abroad programs in Florence and has taught seminars on Greek History for the University of Florence. In 2006, she tutored a Master’s dissertation for Middlebury College in Florence.

Erika holds a Ph.D. in Ancient History (University of Florence, Italy) and a M.A. degree in Classics (University of Florence, Italy). Much of her doctoral research was conducted in Oxford, England. Her current research interests focus on Greek writers in the Roman Empire. She has published several articles in national and international reviews.

Of Italian nationality, Erika speaks Italian, English, French, and Spanish and reads Latin and Greek. She is particularly interested in the history and politics of classical Athens and imperial Rome, and in Greek and Roman historiography. She leads English-spoken walking seminars for Context, a network of scholars and specialists who organize educational tours for enthusiastic travelers. Erika also translates novels from English into Italian for a well-known Italian publisher, a job which she considers the halfway point between two of her biggest passions—reading and writing.

Luisa Demuru

Luisa Demuru graduated from the University of Florence in 1998 with a degree in Modern Foreign Languages and Letters, with an emphasis on German language and literature and a thesis titled "The Jews in Berlin 1933-1939: Aspects of the Jewish Reaction to Nazi Persecution." In 2001 she completed the DITALS Certificate (certification to teach Italian as a foreign language), granted by the University for Foreigners in Siena. Her educational career also includes an exchange scholarship with the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (German academic exchange service) with which she attended the University of Potsdam for one term; a Certificate in German language granted by the International Certificate Conference and Goethe Institut of Bonn; and several specialization courses in linguistic pedagogy.

Luisa has taught Italian language for several study abroad programs in Florence including Syracuse University, New York University, the British Institute, and Richmond College. Her language teaching experience also includes numerous collaborations with Folkeligt Oplysnings Forbund (FOF, Cultural Institution for Adult Education) in Aarhus, Denmark as a guest teacher of Italian language and culture. Luisa has worked as a linguistic support teacher for non-Italophone students in local elementary and middle schools and has translated academic essays from German to Italian for the Giunti publishing house in Florence.

Dr. James Douglas

Dr. James Douglas has lived in Italy for the last 17 years. Having been hooked on Italian cinema at university film club and film festivals, he has pursued a career, alongside his English language and literature teaching, in lecturing in cinema studies. With an M. Phil. in Contemporary Italian Cinema from Bristol University, he now lectures to a variety of students on Italian Cinema, as well as presenting courses in film appreciation for the general public in and around Florence. James also writes articles on Italian cinema and film reviews for the local English language newspaper, as well as programme notes for the local English language cinema. In his free time he watches movies obsessively, listens to music, especially Shostakovich, reads, and enjoys the gastronomic and other delights of Tuscany. His favourite Italian movie is La dolce vita, or maybe Rocco e i suoi fratelli, or Il gattopardo, or…

Tamara Evans

Tamara Evans was born in Baghdad (Iraq) where she lived, studied and worked. In 1973 she won a scholarship from the ministry of petroleum (Iraq) to further her study in the UK. She studied at Hull University (UK) where she earned an MSc in monetary economics by research. Before embarking on her dissertation she studied economics and politics at Baghdad University and spent a qualifying year at Oxford University.

Evans's teaching and research is in the area of international economics, EU, international marketing and business. She started her university teaching career in 1982 at Dundee College of Technology (Dundee), and at John Moores when she moved to Liverpool in 1984. When the family moved to Florence in 1988, she started teaching at Richmond College in Florence. Currently she teaches at several other programs including Gonzaga University in Florence.Evans lived for several years in the Middle East, UK, Sweden, and Italy, and speaks fluently Arabic, English, Italian, and some Swedish.

Course taught: Fashion Marketing and Merchandising

Martina Ghiandelli

Martina Ghiandelli was born and raised in Italy. She graduated from the University of Florence with a degree in philosophy, with a final dissertation titled "The Path of Paul Watzlavick: From the Autopoiesis of Life to the Paradox of Suffering". In 1999, she completed a Master's Degree at the Mental Research Institute (M.R.I.) in Bologna in Comunicazione e cambiamento nelle organizzazioni (Communication and change in organizations). She has been working with American students since August, 2000, when she moved in Colorado to work for the department of Romance languages in Colorado College.

In addition to teaching Italian language at CEA, Martina currently teaches courses titled Italian Language and Culture, The Italian Family and Women, Sex and Marriage at study abroad programs in Florence.

Dr. Katharina Giraldi Haller

Katharina Giraldi Haller received her first degrees (MA, BA) in Art History, Archaeology and Philosophy at the Karl Franzens University in Graz (Austria). She continued further research at the University of Vienna (Austria) where she completed her PhD.

After working as a docent at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, where she collaborated as lector and later assistant professor of Prof. Josef Mikl, Peter Sloterdijk and the painter Paul Rotterdam, she continued her studies in Florence. In Florence, she has taught art history at several institutions and American universities such as, Richmond University in London, George Mason University Washington, the British Institute and Florence University of the Arts. Since the fall of 2005 she has been working as a lecturer at the department of art history at Bristol University.

Dr. Maximiliano Lorenzi

Maximiliano Lorenzi is post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Roma San Pio V. In addition to being a member of the CEA faculty in Florence, he teaches Politics of the European Union at the Lorenzo de' Medici School.

He received his PhD in Political Science from the University of Firenze, his M.A. in European Studies from the University of Siena and his undergraduate degree in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Padova. He has been visiting fellow at the European Centre for Public Affairs in Brussels and has worked for an Italian MEP at the European Parliament.

Previously he taught Politics of the European Union at the University of Firenze from 2005-07 and European Union at California State University in Florence. Dr. Lorenzi has presented at many conferences in Italy and abroad and has published an article on "Power: a radical view" by Steven Lukes. His research and teaching interests include interest representation and lobbying at the European Union level, public affairs consultancy, non-state actors in global politics, the relationship between business and government, and the quality of democracy.

Patrizia Marzocchetti

Patrizia Marzocchetti earned a degree in Italian Language and Literature from the University of Florence, and has since gathered wide experience in teaching courses in Italian language, culture, and sociology. She has taught as far afield as Australia, Canada, the US, Austria, and the UK, as well as in Italy, where she also coordinates a local language program in Florence. She has worked as a columnist for VOGUE Entertaining in Australia, and Italianicious: Essence of Italy, a magazine dedicated to Italian culture. Her expertise also embraces experience as a catering consultant, food consultant, chef trainer, and consultant for the Consorzio Chianti Classico. Her interests include reading, writing, travel, photography and other visual arts, and she is fluent in Italian, German, Spanish, and English. Patrizia's aims as a teacher are to share her passion for Italian culture and to help students gain a new awareness of the unknown aspects of foreign cultures.

Courses Taught: The Culture of Food and Wine in Italian Society

Dr. Angela Oberer

Dr. Angela Oberer was born and raised in Germany. She graduated from Bonn University with a Master's thesis on "The Cross Relic at the Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista in Venice". After a Fellowship at the Bonn Graduate Colloquium "The Renaissance in Italy and its European Reception: Art/History/ Literature", she won a Scholarship at the Kress Foundation at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. Her doctoral thesis, submitted at the Technische Universitaet of Berlin, is entitled "The Fresco Cycle of Signorelli and Sodoma in Monte Oliveto Maggiore".

Angela has been working with American students and teaching at American colleges and universities since 2003.

Nicoletta Peluffo

Born in Savona (Liguria), Nicoletta Peluffo has lived in Florence since 1986 where she attended the Superior School for Interpreters and Translators. Her Masters' degree in Foreign Languages and Literatures is from the University of Milan. She earned her certificate for teaching Italian to foreigners from the University of Siena (DITALS).

Her native language is Italian and she is fluent in English, French and German and has worked as an interpreter and translator. She teaches Italian Language and Civilization for some American universities in Florence including Kent State University, Georgetown University and Miami University (Ohio) where she is involved in syllabi development and tests design. She is also involved in a program that aims to teach Italian to foreign workers.

Lorenzo Picchi

Lorenzo Picchi graduated from the University of Florence in April 2000 with a degree in Political Science. His major fields of study are Media and Communication, and Italian history.

Lorenzo holds a CEMS Master certificate in European Media Studies released by the Victoria University of Manchester with a final dissertation on Italian Neorealist Cinema. He is working on his PhD on the recent developments of the Italian mafia at the Freie Universitet of Berlin. His research areas include the history of the Italian mafia, with particular attention to the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, the new trends and the globalization of organized crime, and the control over the media in Italy from fascism up until the present day.

Picchi began teaching mass communication and history courses five years ago. He has worked for several American Universities and study abroad programs in Florence. His teaching experience is entirely based on American students. He has held conferences on the Italian mafia and the Italian media, both in Italy and the United States.

He is also an honorary member of the Antimafia Association Fondazione Caponnetto, through which he pursues an activity of conferences and congresses in Italian schools and other institutions on organized crime.

Lorenzo is the Director-in-Chief of the newspaper The Florence Newspaper, and has played guitar since he was 15. In 2006, he has recorded and distributed worldwide the album If Prince Calls I'm Not In, with music entirely composed by him.

Dr. Fabrizio Ricciardelli

Dr. Fabrizio Ricciardelli is a native of Florence. He earned his undergraduate degree in Medieval History at the University of Florence and his PhD at the University of Warwick in England. He has taught in Florence for Sarah Lawrence College and Richmond University programs. His academic experience includes several reviews, conference presentations, and journal articles. He has authored and co-authored numerous textbooks on institutional and political history. Among his more recent publications is The Politics of Exclusion in Early Renaissance Florence (Brepols: Turnhout, 2007). His main field of study is Italian city-states in the social, economic, political, and cultural landscape of Medieval Europe. He has recently embarked upon the study of the forms of political propaganda used in the Italian Republics from the 13th to the 15th centuries.

Dr. Sirpa Salenius

Sirpa Salenius is a native of Helsinki, Finland. She received her Ph.D. in English Studies from the University of Joensuu in Finland. She earned her M.A. in English Studies from the University of Florence where the main focus of her studies was on American Literature. She has received various grants for doing research at the Pierpont Morgan Library (New York), the Longfellow House (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and the Houghton Library (Cambridge, Massachusetts). In addition to being a member of the CEA faculty in Florence, she has taught English and American Literature at the Rome Study Center of Richmond. She has written many articles on nineteenth-century American authors, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry James, and Mark Twain, and has participated in many international conferences. She is the author of Set in Stone: 19th-century American Authors in Florence (2003) and Florence, Italy: Images of the City in Nineteenth-Century American Writing (2007).

Sirpa's interests include music, dance, and visual arts; traveling, hiking, and cooking. She has studied seven languages, and uses Italian, English and Finnish on a daily basis.

Jacopo Santini

Jacopo Santini, a native of Florence, completed a Laurea in Law from the University of Florence. Since 1992 he has been involved in photographic projects, mostly consisting of documentation of unseen areas of his birthplace and of Tuscany. On the trail of Eugene Atget, his primary motivation is to attempt to save the memory of places just before their renovation or death, as well as the drawing of an alternative visual map of Florence. Past projects include the 2001 photographic documentation of the former convent and prison called "Le Murate", just before it was transformed into a residential structure as well as work with Albergo Popolare, a shelter for homeless people in the San Frediano Quarter, since 2002.

Since 2004, he has taught photography at SACI in Florence. Apart from teaching he also works as an archaeological photographer.

His deep passion for literature and music (classical and jazz), but also for other, less academic aspects of a country's culture (food, traditions) often affect his choices and the content of his courses.

Antonella Salvia

Antonella Salvia has been teaching Italian language since 2000, when she moved to Belgium to teach at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. After returning to Italy, she began teaching American students in September 2001 and since then has taught Italian language for several study abroad programs in Florence, including Syracuse University, Richmond College, Florence University of the Arts, Pepperdine University and the British Institute of Florence.

Antonella graduated from the University of Pisa (Italy) with a degree in Classics, with a final thesis in Economic and Social History of the Ancient World titled “The Role of Wealth in Athens During the 5th Century B.C. Nikias’ Case.” In 2003, she completed the DITALS certificate (Certification to teach Italian as a foreign language) granted by the University for Foreigners in Siena (Italy). In 2008, she obtained a M.A. degree at the University ‘Ca Foscari in Venice (Italy) in Pedagogy and Advancement of Italian Language and Culture to Foreigners, with a final thesis titled “From Television Talk Show to the Cinema: Four Didactic Proposals. The Audio-Visual in Teaching Italian to Foreign Students.” Her educational career also includes an Erasmus scholarship with which she attended the University of Poitiers for one semester.

Antonella speaks Italian, English and French.

Dr. Martino Traxler

Of Italian and Anglo-American parentage, Dr. Martino Traxler has a B.A. in philosophy from Tufts University and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Cornell University. He has taught mainly moral and political philosophy at Cornell, Ohio University, and Agnes Scott Women's College. He lectures occasionally at the British Institute on contemporary Italian problems, and teaches courses in various periods of Italian history.