CEA GlobalCampus: Rome Faculty

Mario Cacciafeste

Mario Cacciafeste is a native of Rome. After studying Classics at the Liceo Classico Pirandello, he graduated with a Bachelor's in Humanities from "La Sapienza" University of Rome and earned a Diploma in Teaching Italian as a Second Language from Dilit International House of Rome.

From 1999 to 2004, Mario taught Italian language and culture at the Università Popolare per la Terza Età. Since 2004, he has worked as an Italian teacher for many companies, embassies, and associations including the Parsec Association and the Center for Migration Studies (CSER). In 2006, Mario also began teaching Italian language for various American universities including Cornell, Rhode Island School of Design, and De Paul University.

Nadia Cristiani

Born in Pisa (Italy), Nadia Cristiani has lived in Rome since 2001 where she has worked as an Italian instructor for many American university study abroad programs including Cornell University, Dartmouth College, and De Paul University. Nadia earned a Master's degree in Italian Studies from the University of Bologna as well as a certificate for teaching Italian as a second language from the Dilit International House in Rome.

Nadia is fluent in English and Italian and teaches Italian Language and Culture for various American universities in Rome.

Dr. David Dawson Vásquez

Dr. David Dawson Vásquez is a US citizen, from Gonzales, Louisiana. He has a working knowledge of English, Italian, French, and Spanish, along with a reading knowledge of German, Latin, and Greek.

He earned a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from The Catholic University of America in 2001.

Since then, he has taught in various areas of theology (Christology, Papacy & Church, Grace, Ecumenism) and philosophy (Philosophy of God, Philosophy of Human Nature). His dissertation focused on the relationship between reason and the experience of God in the Russian Orthodox tradition and his subsequent research has focused on the relationship of reason and faith, the role of art & liturgy in theology, and the limits of knowledge in regard to God.

He has been teaching since 2001 at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas and since 2002 with a study abroad program for The Catholic University of America, Loyola College in Maryland, and DePaul University. (He has also been the director of this program since 2003.)

For David, study abroad is an important element in a student's university education. It exposes them to another culture and another way of life. This is a unique experience, made only richer when the classes taken abroad have as their purpose the uncovering of the layers of historical meaning embedded in the new city. For this reason, his courses for study abroad students challenge them to reflect upon how the different aspects of history, art, and theory are expressed in the city around them. The courses are academically challenging and provide the tools to unlock the deep cultural meaning of the city of Rome.

Alexandra Massini

Alexandra Massini was born in Rome. She studied Art History at the Courtauld Institute of Art (London), where she obtained her B.A. and M.A. degrees with double distinction.

She has worked at Sotheby's Auctioneers in Rome (Old Master paintings and drawings) and at the Thyssen Museum in Madrid. She has also written for Blue Guides and even published her own guide book to Rome.

Alexandra has been a guest lecturer and study leader for various European and North American institutions such as the National Trust US, the Chrysler Museum of Art, and a number of international universities. Since 2005, she has been teaching for American study abroad programs such as Rutgers and Vanderbilt Universities in Florence, CET in Siena, and Richmond University and CEA in Rome.

Her fields of interest include Roman Imperial Art, 14th Century art in Tuscany, Italian Renaissance Art, Michelangelo, and the history of sculpture. Alexandra is fluent in five languages including German and Italian (bilingual from birth), English, Spanish and French.

In Rome, where she lives, she collaborates with the Colonna and Doria Pamphili galleries and, as a licensed guide, conducts specialized visits for various cultural institutions.

Aldo Patania

Aldo Patania is a European Union national who has divided his existence between Europe and the States. His native language is Italian, though he learned English while attending high school in Connecticut. He also speaks French and Spanish. He has a doctoral degree in International Relations from the Italian state university in Catania (Sicily) and was also granted a Fulbright scholarship to study international economics at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies both in Bologna and in Washington DC.

Aldo started out his career as the senior economic expert of the US Ambassador in Rome before moving on to London to be the senior country manager for what was then Czechoslovakia at the newly-founded European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. In the meantime, Aldo took on teaching as a side activity. Eventually. he decided to go solely into teaching and that is what he has been doing for the past 20 years. He has been teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels for various academic institutions both in Italy and in the US. He normally teaches in the States during the summer and Christmas breaks, while maintaining a full teaching load in Italy during the regular academic year. He is also the MBA Director for the Roman branch of the University of Malta and maintains very close ties with the Italian and US Embassies throughout the world.

Aldo travels extensively whenever his teaching schedule will allow him to accept invitations to lecture in places other than those where he normally spends most of his time. He is often asked to speak on topics relating to the European Union, international business, and marketing, as well as electronic business (he taught one of the first courses on e-Commerce ever to be offered either in Italy or in California).

Aldo is well known for his practical, hands-on approach to teaching and believes firmly in taking his students into the real world by leading them through intensive tours of some European capital cities or of the key near-by decision-making centers. Despite his gold frequent flyer status, he still finds time to work out and catch a musical or an opera production whenever he has an opportunity.

Dr. James Schwarten

James Schwarten is a professor of Italian language, literature and culture and specializes in the history of Italian organized crime. He earned his PhD in Italian Literature and Linguistics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and holds an MA in Theoretical Lingusitcs and a BA in International Relations. In addition to teaching for CEA, James is currently affiliated with Loyola University, Chicago (Rome) and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (Rome). He has also taught for the The Umbra Institute in Perugia.

In his spare time, James enjoys photography, hiking, cooking, listeneing to music, and playing the drums.

Dr. Ray Shaw

Ray Shaw, born 60 years ago in London of an Italian mother and British father, spent the first part of his professional career working in assorted management functions in various geographic areas before making the decision to break with the past and do what he had always desired to do - settle in Italy teaching business. Ray has an Honours Degree and Ph.D. from what is now the Metropolitan University of London in Material Science and also completed his Masters in Business Admnistration at the London Business School.

Ray's main areas of interest are international business and management and organizational behavior. As a result of these interests, he frequently works in Rome for the embassies and other government entities of various emerging economy countries whose governments are interested in developing the competitivity of their industrial bases.

Since 2000, Ray has been teaching local and American study abroad programs at John Cabot University in Rome as well as the Umbra Institute in Perugia. He also spent two years as Director of the MBA program at the University of Malta, Link Campus in Rome.

Ray's main interest, apart from the development of his students, is enjoying the Italian countryside, people, and culture.

Dr. Gabriele Simoncini

Gabriele Simoncini received his PhD in History and Political Science from Columbia University (New York) in 1991. He also holds a Laurea Degree in Philosophy from the University of Pisa and completed post-doctoral specialization at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford University (California). Dr. Simoncini has done research at the Freie University (Berlin) and the University of Warsaw and well as in archives and institutions throughout the Vatican, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, France, Poland, and Russia.

Dr. Simoncini has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in history and politics of Eastern and Western Europe, ethnopolitics, integration, and Western Civilization at Columbia University, Barnard College, New York University, the City University of New York, Pace University, and St. John’s University. In Italy, he teaches courses in political science, international affairs, and management at the University of Rome, Instituto Formazione Operatori Aziendali (Florence), Telecom Learning Services, Escuola Superiore St. Anna (Pisa), and Richmond University (Rome).

Dr. Gregory Smith

Born in Texas but a resident of Italy since 1981, Dr. Smith speaks fluent Italian and English, excellent French, and some Spanish. He also has reading knowledge of Portuguese, Romanian, and German. He holds a PhD in Social Anthropology from Oxford University, which was awarded on the basis of research he conducted in a rurual community in central Italy. In connection with this research, he worked as a farm hand in Abruzzo and has since cultivated an interest in food and food systems. In the 1980’s, Dr. Smith trained as a wine taster with the Italian Association of Sommeliers and also became a member of the Slow Food movement in Italy.

Dr. Smith has taught at various institutions including Temple University, the University of California, and Cornell University. He has also been the Academic Director of a business program in Italy sponsored by Nottingham Trent University, the Director of the American University World Capitals program in Rome, and the Dean of Academic Affairs for the American University of Rome.

Dr. Smith’s interests are in the transformation of territory under the impact of globalization, modern youth consumer trends, and organizational theory in international environments. He has played woodwind instruments since childhood and occasionally performs jazz music on the flute and tenor saxophone.

Antonello Villani

Alessandro Zanazzo

Alessandro Zanazzo completed his BA in Photography and Multimedia Arts at Kunsh Art Academy (Bergen, Norway) and also attended a professional film school in Italy. His specialities are fashion photography, portraits, fine art, reportage, architecture, and travel photography. His images have been published in travel magazines and professional websites along with articles about his travel experiences. He has even travelled to Africa several times on behalf of the Ministry of Tourism.

Alessandro spent many years abroad in Norway and Paris and has participated in the French Biennial of Photography, "Le Mois de la Photo," where he showed artworks inspired by two classic Latin writers: "The Metamorphosis" by Ovidio and "The Rerum Natura" by Lucrezio. He has exhibited pictures in European art galleries and museums as well as places like the deconsecrated church of Saint Peter in Melle (France) or the Saint Angel Castle in Rome. Recently, Alessandro has been working on several art projects concerning the interaction between various artistic languages including photography, video, installations, performances, and music.

Alessandro has been working with Americans and other international students through study abroad programs for almost ten years and speaks fluent English, French, and Italian. Alessandro's strength is his ability to awaken students' passion, creativity, and enthusiasm for the communicative and expressive language of visual arts.

Dr. Leo Madden

Dr. Leo Madden is an Assistant Professor of Theology at Ohio Dominican University in Columbus, Ohio. He specializes in teaching courses in Biblical Studies at the undergraduate and graduate levels but also teaches an Interdisciplinary Seminar course for first year students on the evolution of honor and shame in Western civilization.

Dr. Madden lived in Rome from 1980 to 1986 while earning graduate degrees in Catholic Theology and Sacred Scripture at the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Pontifical Biblical Institute. He was among the first American laypersons (that is, a person not studying for the priesthood) to receive graduate training at those institutions.

He is very excited about the thought of returning to Rome and sharing with students his love of the city, its people, and its general way of life. His love of Rome and Italy has not lessened over the years: he and his bride took their “luna di miele” (“Honeymoon”) in Italy, he enjoys cooking Italian dishes, and he continues to follow Italian soccer (Forza Italia!).

Over the past 20 years, Dr. Madden has been called upon frequently by various Catholic parishes, Christian communities, and media outlets to explain issues relating to the teachings of the Catholic Church.

He is an active member of the Catholic Biblical Association, the Society of Biblical Literature, the American Academy of Religion, and the Catholic Theology Society. He is active in Theta Alpha Kappa, the national honors society for Theology and Religious Studies, as a member of the Board of Directors, as the Editor of the Journal of Theta Alpha Kappa, and as the moderator for the local chapter at Ohio Dominican University.