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"A superb report on the analysis of maiolica pottery excavated from beneath the Mexico City Cathedral and from excavations for the Mexico City Metro."—Southwest Mission Research Center Newsletter "The most important aspect of this monograph is not just how good it is but its potential for use by archaeologists in the future."—The Kiva

My thesis focuses on the Italian poet Giovanni Giudici (1924-2011) and specifically on his activity as a translator from Anglo-American poetry, during the decade 1950-1960. I have investigated Giudici’s translations from a twofold perspective. On the one hand, I acquired a detailed overview of the translations, attempting to establish a definitive and accurate chronology of them all – in most cases, the official dates of the individual texts published not coinciding with the later inclusion of the same texts in three separate collections. On the other hand, I analysed the stylistic and literary rendering of the foreign texts, evaluating their specific artistic value and, where relevant, emphasising in what way they are interrelated with Giudici’s original verse. In doing so, I used archival materials, examining drafts and comparing these with the final versions. In my first chapter, I discussed the emerging notion of error and showed how this soon becomes the bridging element between the poet’s alleged amateurish knowledge of the original languages and his hyperconscious conception of the literary practice. The most innovative aspect of this ambiguous poetics is the poet’s tendency to equate poetic language with what he calls ‘strange language’, that is translation itself. While dealing with each foreign text individually and showing how it contributes to the poet’s language and themes (such as, primarily, those of error, of strange language and of mask), I also argued that the translations of the 50s could fall under the category of ‘metaphysical poetry’. Not unlike other poets of his day, Giudici familiarised himself with ‘metaphysical poetry’ through T. S. Eliot, as I showed in my second chapter. I here devoted special attention to Giudici’s work on Eliot and presented some early translations of Eliot by him which have hitherto escaped critics’ attention. In the last two chapters, I analyse other foreign poets he translated, ranging from Donne to Emily Dickinson, from Milton to Pound. Finally, by mapping Giudici’s interests in Anglo-American poetry, my thesis highlights the centrality that translation progressively acquires alongside the production of the original verse and within the use of the poet’s mother tongue.

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published_or_final_version / History / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

This examination essay is a study of the aria Ritorna vincitor! from the opera Aida by composer Giuseppe Verdi. The aim of this study is to address the vocal and interpretational questions that may arise while learning the aria. My work with this essay has included searching for information about Verdi, the opera Aida and the cultural, political and musical climate wherein the opera was born. I have also watched the opera and listened to several versions of the aria. I concentrated especially on the interpretations of Mirella Freni, Leontyne Price and Maria Callas. I also created a musical analysis of the aria. Throughout the process of writing this essay I have kept in my mind my own perspective as a singer. I have formed my study from the information I find useful in the process of approaching a new piece of music. The process of writing this essay has provided me with a lot of insight into the musical ideals and ideas behind Verdi’s work. Writing this essay made me aware of the dilemma of fulfilling the vocal expectations of the tradition and at the same time interpreting the drama convincingly. I have found a lot of useful material for a singer’s artistic development and all that I have learned will certainly come into use in my future vocal studies.

Italian loadwords in Libyan Arabic have not received the attention and concern they deserve despite their number, high frequency, and wide use by all Libyans at all levels for more than one and a half centuries. This study attempts to record as many Italian loanwords in Libyan Arabic as possible as reported by the Libyan students and their spouses in the United States, to establish a linguistic criterion for the identification of these loanwords in Libyan Arabic, to determine the semantic adaptations they have undergone, and to verify their recognition and use by the students and their spouses. A list of 1000 words suspected to be Italian loanwords were collected through direct observation of Libyan speech, including my own as a native speaker of the dialect, by use of informants and intensive reading. The words were then checked against their possible native models in Italian through the use of Italian dictionaries and consultation with native Italian speakers, most of whom are linguists or language teachers. The list was reduced to 682 words, which were used in the questionnaire sent to 290 Libyan students and their spouses in the United States. From the 148 replies to the questionnaire, it is found that on the average 75% of the respondents know all the 684 words and 58% of them use them. About 82% of the loanwords have literary or colloquial Arabic equivalents. About 55% had presumably entered Libyan Arabic or Libyan Arabic speakers were exposed to them during the 1911-1970 period, which marks the Italian occupation of Libya, 5% between 1832-1910, and 5% between 1970-1985. About 93% of the Italian loanwords are nouns, 7% adjectives, 1% verbs, 0.8% adverbs, and 0.5% interjections. Meanings of most of the loanwords are more pervasive in Italian than in Libyan Arabic. It was also found that most of the loanwords had adopted Arabic grammatical rules for tense formation and inflection for number or gender.

The present study looks at the influence that two of the major cultural forces of the twentieth century had on the output of Carlo Emilio Gadda. It grew out of a search for ways of discussing Gadda and in particular his 1957 novel Quer pasticciaccio brutto de via Merulana that would be accessible to the widest possible audience. Ten chapters in length, the study treats first the influence that Christianity and in particular Italian Catholicism had on the avowedly atheist writer over five chapters, paying attention to the saints and holy places used in Gadda’s output, then moves on to consider the importance of his scientific training as an engineer and his interest in physics in the second half. Aside from examining the text of Quer pasticciaccio and other works such as Cognizione del dolore and La Madonna dei filosofi, I have used biographical information and in particular data gleaned from research in Gadda’s own personal library. The aims of the study are to introduce the reader unfamiliar with Gadda to his work, to offer a new framework by which the Gadda scholar may consider the Gran Lombardo, and to suggest new solutions to the unending puzzle that is Quer pasticciaccio.

The thesis explores the representation of migration to Italy, through the study of a range of films selected for their thematic relevance as much as their aesthetic complexity. Beyond the scope of film analysis, it aims to add a contextualization of the social, political and cultural issues that connect migration and cinema, at the point where film studies and cultural studies converge.

This thesis analyse life and work of the leading figure of italian literature in the twentieth century Elsa Morante. Important elements of her work are defined on the basis of analyses of all her novels. The introduction part shows her personal life and comlete work, which includes also poetry, short stories and fairy tales. Four chapters analysing her four novels are following. The author debuts in 1948 when she published novel Menzogna e sortilegio. Second book L'isola di Artura followed nearly ten years later in 1957. This novel won critical acclaim and favour of readers. Next book La Storia was a bestseller with more then 600 000 sold copies. Critic's opinions differ widely, up to now this novel is receiving opposing reviewes. Morante concluded her writing with the last very pessimistic novel Aracoeli. Author wrote just four novels, in every one of them she used the same methodes and themes. Typical components of her writing style are the subject of the last chapter. key words: Elsa Morante, Menzogna e sortilegio, L'isola di Arturo, La Storia, Aracoeli, author's style