People

Ombretta Frau's has published extensively on nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Italian cultural history, modern philology, Pirandello, and Italian women writers. At Mount Holyoke, Frau’s courses include literature for children, material culture, fascism, women, theater, and travel literature. Her classes incorporate many pedagogical tools, including film, music, and web design, and she believes in creating a relaxed and friendly classroom atmosphere that encourages communication. Frau is a frequent collaborator of the Mount Holyoke Art Museum and she keeps a blog is on the Italian Huffington Post.

Martino Lovato works on the intersection between Italian, French and Arabic cultures, literature, and cinema. He loves the study of languages and stories of all kinds. His research interests include the Mediterranean as an interdisciplinary critical framework, migration and travel narratives, and medieval historical novels.

A clinical psychologist, Morena Svaldi has extensive research experience in the field. At Mount Holyoke, she teaches Italian at all levels, with a special interest in blended learning, teaching with technology, methodology and pedagogy in second language acquisition. Her research has been funded by several Five Colleges Mellon Grants. In 2014, Svaldi became the Faculty Director of the Language Assistant Program.