Philadelphians in Italy and Italians in Philadelphia: A Research Project

The Department of Transnational Italian Studies is delighted to announce "Philadelphians in Italy and Italians in Philadelphia: A Research Project," an invited talk by Assistant Professor Luca Zipoli. The event is organized within the lecture series promoted by the "Italian Culture Employee Resource Group" at Swarthmore College and is open also to Tri-Co community members not enrolled in the group. The lecture will be accompanied by a lunch with pizza.

Please contact Gigi Simeone at gsimeon1@swarthmore.edu for RSVP and more information.

Start time and location: 12:00 pm at Swarthmore College (Kohlberg 230).

Abstract:

The talk investigates the impact and legacy that Italian arts and architecture exerted on Philadelphia’s landscapes from the 18th-century to nowadays, making it become the cosmopolitan urban environment that it is today. Throughout the centuries Philadelphians traveled to the peninsula bringing back objects to display or studied the country’s art and architecture styles to shape the evolving aspect of the city. By analyzing some lesser-known sites, monuments, and artworks in Philadelphia, the talk highlights also the role that migrant Italian artists played in the development of the city, showing how places, arts, identities that today are perceived as ‘American’ have in most cases a transnational history to tell. The talk will also present and discuss the scholarly outcomes of the collaborative research project achieved by the 18 students enrolled in the course "Philadelphia the Global City: The Italian Legacy across Time" (ITAL B240) designed and taught by Professor Zipoli in Fall 2025 within the Tri-Co Philly Program.