Announcing the Recipient of the 2024 Sorbello Fellowship Grant

The Sorbello Foundation is delighted to announce that the recipient of the 2024 Sorbello Fellowship Grant is Dr. Alice Ciulla, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Roma Tre University and an Adjunct Professor at the American University of Rome.

Dr. Ciulla’s funded research project, titled “Americans in Italy and the Rise of Fascism (1922-1941),” examines the experiences and perspectives of Americans living in Italy during the emergence and consolidation of Fascism. Her study spans the period from Mussolini’s March on Rome in 1922 to Italy’s declaration of war on the United States in 1941.

The research places particular emphasis on the role of U.S. ambassadors to Italy and the influence of American cultural institutions operating in the country such as the Center for American Studies (formerly known as the Associazione Italo-Americana) and the American Academy in Rome. Through these lenses, Dr. Ciulla aims to shed light on the ways American expatriates and diplomatic figures perceived and interacted with the evolving political landscape of Fascist Italy.

In her own words, Dr. Ciulla states: «Italian Fascism was a novel, modern political movement that paved the way for other authoritarian and totalitarian regimes across the globe. Its global influence cannot be overstated, and understanding how the American community observed its development offers valuable insights into the mindset of the elites of that era.»

The Sorbello Foundation congratulates Dr. Ciulla on her achievement and looks forward to the groundbreaking insights her research will bring to the field of Italian and transatlantic studies.