about me
Welcome to the journey of Cristiano Amendola, an academic researcher with a profound interest in the realms of humanism, rhetoric, and digital humanities!
I am a researcher specializied in Italian and Humanistic Philology, as well as Italian Medieval and Renaissance Literature, with a focus on Digital Humanities and Digital Publishing. My passion for Italian literature - particularly Renaissance epistolography and History of Rhetoric - has guided my academic and professional journey, leading me to delve into the intricate facets of these disciplines.My academic background is characterized by two doctoral degrees: one obtained from the University of Liège in 2018 and the other from the University of Basilicata in 2022. At the University of Liège, my research delved into the rhetorical strategies used by humanists in epistolary discourse, culminating in my thesis 'Il vero "raccontato". Narratio brevis e retorica umanistica nell'epistola tra Quattro e Cinquecento'. This work demonstrated how epistolographers utilized the genres of novella and facetiae, bringing a contemporary relevance to the "sermo quotidianus" prescribed for letters since antiquity. My time at Liège was also marked by significant contributions to the ARC EpistolART project, the critical and digital edition of Giorgio Vasari's correspondence, and a collaborative stint at the University of Oxford, contributing to the 'Cultures of Knowledge: Networking the Republic of Letters/EMLO' project.In my doctoral studies at the University of Basilicata, I explored the role of epistolary communication in shaping political language in the Italian seigneuries of the second Quattrocento. This led to the critical edition of Bartolomeo Miniatore's 'Formulario di esordi ed epistole missive e responsive per Giacomo Bolognini', a landmark work in humanistic literature. My dissertation received special mention at the Premio Letterario Basilicata in 2022 and was published by Federico II University Press. Additionally, I have supervised the digital and critical edition of Miniatore's 'Formulario di petitioni responsioni e repplicationi per Astorre II Manfredi'.My postdoctoral research commenced in November 2022 at the Casa Delle Tecnologie Emergenti della Città di Matera, University of Basilicata, focusing on making primary sources about the history of Matera available online. This included the digitization of the 'Codice Diplomatico di Matera' and the critical edition of 'Cronaca dela città di Matera' by Eustachio Verricelli. In November 2023, I embarked on a second postdoctoral venture at the University of Naples 'Federico II', working on a digital publication project of documents related to the foundation of the University of Naples.My scholarly output includes three books, two of which are monographs, three digital critical editions, two digitizations, 28 articles and book chapters, most peer-reviewed, seven international meetings organized, and participation in 23 conferences, often in English. My expertise spans over various domains, including epistolary theory and practice, digital humanities, codicology, philology, and historical semantics, pivotal for studies on Renaissance epistles.My experiences in Liège, Utrecht, Leiden, Naples, Potenza, and Oxford have not only enriched my academic profile but also enabled me to contribute significantly to the evolving field of digital humanities, bridging the gap between traditional humanistic studies and modern technology.
