The Center for Italian Studies, in partnership with the Hesburgh Libraries, is pleased to announce the launch of the new Italian Studies Library Acquisitions Grant. 

The grant—intended to enhance the research value of the Hesburgh Libraries’ holdings across a wide range of fields associated with Italian studies—invites members of the Notre Dame community to submit proposals for materials of rare, unique, or exceptional value that advance research and teaching at the University.

Proposed acquisitions may include: entire collections or other substantial multi-item purchases that address critical needs, unique or rare materials of scholarly or research value, or opportunities not supported by existing departmental or library funds.

“We are so grateful to the Center for Italian Studies for sponsoring this grant,” said Margaret Meserve, Edward H. Arnold Dean of the Hesburgh Libraries. “The Hesburgh Libraries has a long history of collecting in Italian studies, and we are especially proud of our longstanding partnership with the Devers Program in Dante Studies and the Center for Italian Studies. With the help of this new grant program, we will further strengthen our collections while inviting new opportunities for collaborations with faculty and students in all areas of Italian studies.” 

Premier Italian Collections

Materials acquired with the grant will be housed and stewarded by the Hesburgh Libraries and the department of Rare Books & Special Collections (RBSC).

RBSC is home to one of the premier collections of Italian literature in the United States. The department currently serves as one of the foremost centers in North America for the study of Dante Alighieri, with more than 3,500 volumes in the Zahm Dante Collection. 

Its holdings encompass works of major medieval and Renaissance Italian authors, such as Petrarch, Boccaccio, Baldassare Castiglione, Ludovico Ariosto, Pietro Bembo and Torquato Tasso; an expansive collection of early Italian printed books, including numerous incunabula and sixteenth-century books; and growing collections of modern literature, including the writings of Primo Levi.

“The Center for Italian Studies is proud to partner with the Hesburgh Libraries in advancing a long-term vision for Italian studies at Notre Dame,” said Theodore J. Cachey, Jr., the Pizzo Family Chair in Dante Studies and Ravarino Family Director of Italian and Dante Studies. “Targeted acquisitions—whether rare books, archival materials, or digital initiatives—strengthen the intellectual infrastructure that sustains interdisciplinary research and teaching. This initiative ensures that our collections continue to grow organically, coherently, and ambitiously.”

Global Research Destination 

The Notre Dame Center for Italian Studies organizes and supports research, education, and outreach initiatives in Italian studies, including those of the Devers Family Program in Dante Studies, together with partners on campus, in Rome, and around the world.

The mission of the center is to support research and education in the languages, cultures, and peoples of Italy’s past, present, and future from a broad array of disciplinary perspectives.

The center supports Notre Dame faculty and students in Italian studies with its annual program of seminars and lectures; the research grants and fellowships it offers; its publications, library resources, and digital humanities initiatives; and through its internal research projects and international collaborations. The center also organizes, sponsors, and co-sponsors outreach activities to celebrate and promote the study of Italy’s languages, cultures, and peoples to Notre Dame faculty and students as well as global communities of scholars.

Call for Proposals

The grant application is now open for any member of the University of Notre Dame community whose work supports research or teaching in Italian studies. For more information, download the call for proposals and submission guidelines.

Interested applicants should submit their proposal using the designated submission form by Wednesday, April 15. 

For more information, view the detailed call for proposals or contact Demetrio Yocum, Senior Research Associate, Center for Italian Studies, at dyocum@nd.edu; or Ruben Celani, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Italian Studies and Zahm Dante Collection Curatorial Fellow, at rcelani@nd.edu.