Aurora Di Trapano

Aurora Di Trapano is a history PhD student interested in Italian Fascism and its colonial past.  She joins the department under the supervision of Professor Andrew Bellisari, where she hopes to contribute to a still-lacking historiography of the Italian colonial empire.

Aurora holds a BA in Political Science and International Relations from the Università degli Studi Guglielmo Marconi in Rome, and an MA in Modern International and Transnational History from the University of Oslo.

As part of her MA research, she conducted a qualitative study on the Pontine Marshes — an area south of Rome that was reclaimed and colonized in the 1930s by the fascist regime.  She interviewed a sample of twenty locals to better understand how fascist legacies are perceived and passed down among a community with such close ties to fascism and Mussolini.

Aurora also spent a semester working at the Norwegian Institute in Rome, a cultural and research hub for students, academics, and diplomats from all walks of life.  Here she was invited to present her research at the Director’s Seminars, in front of students and experts in the history field.  Furthermore, in the past year, she has acquired some important teaching experience, working pro bono at her local after-school programs.

Aurora spends most of her free time reading novels, visiting art galleries, listening to Taylor Swift, and lifting weights at the gym.