#  Francesco Erspamer 

Robert S. and Ilse Friend Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures

 

 

 



   ![Francesco](/sites/g/files/omnuum8296/files/styles/hwp_4_5__320x400/public/2025-04/erspamer-2.jpg?itok=EVwi3CRF) 

 



 

 location\_on Boylston 331 

 smartphone [617-495-4940](tel:617-495-4940) 

 email <erspamer@fas.harvard.edu> 

Contact faculty for office hours

 

 



 

**Academic Degrees:** Laurea in Lettere, Diploma di perfezionamento, Università di Roma “La Sapienza”

**Research Interests:** Renaissance culture; intellectual history; modern and contemporary Italian novel; literature and politics.

Erspamer’s book reviews appear weekly on line in his page [**Harvard Diary**](http://www.italica.rai.it/monografie/harvard/index.htm), on the web site of Rai international, *Italica*.

He created and organizes the [**Zerilli-Marimò Prize for Italian Fiction**](http://italian.as.nyu.edu/page/zeillimarimo). He contributes regularly to the *Rivista dei libri*.

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Selected Publications:

[***Paura di cambiare. Crisie critica del concetto di cultura***](http://www.donzelli.it/libro/2126/paura-di-cambiare) **(Donzelli, 2010).**

***La creazione del passato. Sulla modernità culturale*** **(Sellerio, 2009).**

“Il gioco e le Arcadie: Analisi comparata di una trasformazione.” *Passare il tempo: La letteratura del gioco e dell'intrattenimento dal XII al XVI secolo*, ed. Michelangelo Picone (1993). Ed., Iacopo Sannazaro, *Arcadia/L’Arcadie* (Mursia, 1990, French ed. Les belles letters, 2004)

“Liberating the *Liberata*”, *Rinascimento* (2003).

Ed., Pietro Aretino, *Lettere*, libro I, libro II (Mondadori, 1995, 1998).

“La poesia lirica dal Cinquecento all'Arcadia.” *Manuale di letteratura italiana*, eds. Franco Brioschi and Costanzo Di Girolamo, vol. 2 (1994).

“La scrittura sottomarina di Italo Svevo.” *Il romanzo tra i due secoli (1880?\]1918)*, ed. Paolo Amalfitano (1993)

Lorenzino de’ Medici, *Apologia e lettere* (Salerno, 1991).

“Lo scrittoio di Celio Magno.” *Il libro di poesia dal copista al tipografo*, eds. Marco Santagata and Amedeo Quondam (1989).

“La parola a teatro: ritorno alla *Città morta*.” *Rivista di letteratura italiana* (1985).

“Petrarchismo e manierismo nella lirica del secondo Cinquecento.” *Storia della cultura veneta*, vol. 4/1 (1983).

*La biblioteca di don Ferrante: Duello e onore nella cultura del Cinquecento* (Bulzoni, 1982).



 

 

 



##  Courses Taught 

 



### Fall, 2026

  [### ITALIAN 116 - Italian Renaissance

 ](/class/italian-116-italian-renaissance) 

 **Semester:**   Fall 

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 **Year offered:**  2026 

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 **Link:** [Course Website](https://locator.tlt.harvard.edu/course/colgsas-121110/2026/fall/18612) 

 

   [### FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR 035E - What Is Beauty?

 ](/class/first-year-seminar-035e-what-beauty) 

 **Semester:**   Fall 

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 **Year offered:**  2026 

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 **Link:** [Course Website](https://locator.tlt.harvard.edu/course/colgsas-224655/2026/fall/19475) 

 

  



### Spring, 2026

  [### ITALIAN 201R - De Bosis Colloquium in Italian Studies

 ](/class/italian-201r-de-bosis-colloquium-italian-studies) 

 **Semester:**   Spring 

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 **Year offered:**  2026 

 

   [### ITALIAN 111 - Italian Cinema: 10 Masterpieces

 ](/class/italian-111-italian-cinema-10-masterpieces) 

 **Semester:**   Spring 

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 **Year offered:**  2026 

 

  



### Spring, 2027

  [### ITALIAN 201R - De Bosis Colloquium in Italian Studies

 ](/class/italian-201r-de-bosis-colloquium-italian-studies-0) 

 **Semester:**   Spring 

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 **Year offered:**  2027 

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 **Link:** [Course Website](https://locator.tlt.harvard.edu/course/colgsas-123829/2026/spring/13421) 

 

   [### ITALIAN 162 - The Meaning of Time

 ](/class/italian-162-meaning-time) 

 **Semester:**   Spring 

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 **Year offered:**  2027 

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 **Link:** [Course Website](https://locator.tlt.harvard.edu/course/colgsas-108772/2026/spring/17000) 

 

  



 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

- ## Department Role
    
     [Faculty](/people/role/faculty) [Italian Faculty](/people/role/italian-faculty) [Section Head](/people/role/section-head)
- ## Language
    
     [Italian](/language/italian)
- ## Research Interest
    
     [Literature](/research-interest/literature) [Italian](/research-interest/italian) [Book History](/research-interest/book-history)