CALIRI Elena

Full Professor in the Academic Discipline SSD STAN-01/B – Roman History (L-ANT/03), serving at the Department of Ancient and Modern Civilizations of the University of Messina. She graduated in 1988 with honors (summa cum laude) in Classical Studies from the University of Messina. She then attended the three-year PhD program in Ancient History at the same university and, in 1994, earned her PhD in Ancient History.

Qualified to teach Italian Literature, Latin, and Greek in lower secondary schools, upper secondary institutions, and Classical High Schools, from 1992 to 2001 she served as a tenured teacher of Italian Literature, Latin, and Greek after successfully passing the national competitive examination.
From 2002 to 2014, she was a University Researcher in Roman History at the University of Messina. In 2014, she obtained the Italian National Scientific Qualification (Abilitazione Scientifica Nazionale) for Associate Professor in the academic field 10 D/1 Ancient History (L-ANT/03), and from November of the same year she became Associate Professor of Roman History in the Department of Ancient and Modern Civilizations at the University of Messina.
On March 21, 2018, she obtained the Italian National Scientific Qualification for Full Professor in the academic field 10 D/1 Ancient History (L-ANT/03).
Since December 29, 2022, she has been Full Professor.
PARTICIPATION IN EDITORIAL BOARDS OF SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEES
From 2015 to the present: member of the Scientific Committee and Editorial Board of the journal Peloro (ISSN 2499-8293);
From 2016 to the present: member of the Scientific Committee of the Pelorias series of the University of Messina;
From 2017 to the present: member of the Scientific Committee of the journal Il Maurolico (ISSN 2036-5896);
From 2020 to the present: member of the Scientific Committee of the international journal Occidente/Oriente. Studi Tardoantichi (ISSN 2723-9454);
From 2022 to the present: member of the Scientific Committee of Codex, Giornale romanistico di studi giuridici, politici e sociali (ISSN 2724-2110), Class A journal;
From 2018 to the present: member of the Editorial Board of Quaderni di Archeologia (ISSN 1593-2664).
AWARDS AND MEMBERSHIPS IN ACADEMIES AND SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATIONS
2015: Recipient of the Anassilaos Arte Cultura Economia e Scienze Award (under the patronage of the Italian Senate, the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, and the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism), in the section dedicated to Professor Salvatore Calderone.
2019: Recipient of the La tela di Penelope Award, sponsored by the NaxosLegge Association.
From 2006 to the present: member of the Associazione Internazionale di Studi Tardoantichi (AIST – International Association for Late Antique Studies);
From 2010 to 2023: associate member of the Class of Letters, Philosophy, and Fine Arts of the Accademia Peloritana dei Pericolanti (founded in 1729);
From 2023 to the present: full member of the Class of Letters, Philosophy, and Fine Arts of the Accademia Peloritana dei Pericolanti;
From 2016 to the present: honorary member of the Scientific Society of the Archaeological School of Carthage (SAIC);
Since 2019: board member of Ancient Cities ETS. Association for the Study of the History of Euro-Mediterranean Cities;
From February 26, 2021 to the present: Scientific Coordinator and representative of the University of Messina for the Interuniversity and International Center for the Study of the “Ancient Cities of Europe and the Mediterranean” (Ancient Cities), involving the University of Basilicata, the University of Naples L'Orientale, the Université de Tours, and the Jagiellonian University;
Since January 9, 2025: representative of the Department of Ancient and Modern Civilizations at URBS REGIA, Origines de Europa.
MAIN RESEARCH INTERESTS
Economic and social history of the ancient and late antique world, with particular attention to agrarian structures, management systems, and landholding patterns in Southern Italy and Sicily.
Slave labor and forms of dependency in the ancient world.
History of Sicily and the Western Mediterranean.
Institutional structures of the Late Antique and Proto-Byzantine world.
The barbarian invasions.
The Augustan Age.
Historiography of the ancient world.
ORGANIZATION OF AND PARTICIPATION AS SPEAKER IN CONGRESSES AND CONFERENCES
1996: Participation in the conference held in Messina from 2 to 4 December 1996, concluding the first year of activities within the C.N.R. Strategic Project “The Mediterranean System. Origins and Encounters of Cultures in Antiquity, Magna Graecia and Sicily. State of Research and Future Perspectives”, with a paper entitled “The Mediterranean Character of Sicily in the Age of Gregory the Great.”

1999: Participation in the 6th Congress of the Italian Society for the Study of Classical Antiquity, “Messina and Reggio in Antiquity: History, Society, Culture”, Messina–Reggio Calabria, 24–26 May 1999, with a paper entitled “Messana in the Age of Gregory the Great.”

2002: Participation in the International Conference “Salvatore Calderone (1915–2000). His Scholarly Profile”, University of Messina, 19–21 February 2002, with a paper entitled “Between Institutions and Economic History: Salvatore Calderone and the Province of Sicily.”

2002: Participation in the 15th International Conference on Roman Africa, organized by the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies on the Roman Provinces, “At the Frontiers of the Empire: Contacts, Exchanges, Conflicts”, Tozeur, Tunisia, 11–15 December 2002, with a paper entitled “Praedia pistoria and African possessores in the Vandal Age: On Valentinian III, Novella 34.”

2003: Participation in the 6th Conference of the Association for Late Antique Studies, “Forms of Culture in Late Antiquity”, Naples–Santa Maria Capua Vetere, 29 September–2 October 2003, with a paper entitled “The First Comes Patrimonii in the West and Roman Scriniocratic Regulations.”

2004: Participation in the Seminar “New Perspectives on Late Antiquity”, University of Basilicata, Matera, 18–20 May 2004, with a paper entitled “Comes Gildila and the Maladministration of the Gothic Administration in Sicily.”

2004: Participation in the 16th International Conference on Roman Africa, “Mobility of People and Peoples, Migration Dynamics and Immigration in the Western Provinces of the Roman Empire”, Rabat, 15–19 December 2004, with a paper entitled “Movements of Men and Goods in Sicilian Hagiographic Literature: Preliminary Notes.”

2005: Participation in the International Conference “Historiography and Hagiography in Late Antiquity: The Search for Europe’s Christian Roots”, Rome, Pontifical Salesian University, 21–22 January 2005, with a paper entitled “Hagiography and Institutions: The Sicilian Case.”

2005: Participation in the Conference “Poor Sick People and Sick Poor People: Socio-Economic Dynamics, Cultural Transformations and Welfare Measures in the Roman West during Late Antiquity”, University of Palermo, 13–15 October 2005, with a paper entitled “Poverty and Welfare in Byzantine Sicily.”

2006: Participation in the Conference “Roman Sicily between the Republic and the Early Empire”, Caltanissetta, 20–21 May 2006, with a paper entitled “Imperial Estates in Sicily.”

2006: Participation in the Study Day “Central and Peripheral Powers in Late Antiquity: Comparisons and Conflicts”, University of Messina, 5 September 2006, with a paper entitled “The collatio donatarum possessionum and the Granting of Imperial Lands in Late Antiquity.”

2006: Participation in the 17th International Conference on Roman Africa, Seville, 14–17 December 2006, “The Wealth of Africa: Resources, Productions, Exchanges”, with a paper entitled “The penuria cultorum in African Ecclesiastical Estates during the Gregorian Age and the Use of daticii.”

2007: Participation in the 18th International Conference of the Accademia Romanistica Costantiniana, “Person and Persons in Late Antique Society and Law”, Perugia–Spello, 18–20 June 2007, with a paper entitled “The mancipia in Gregory the Great’s Registrum Epistularum.”

2007: Participation in the International Seminar organized by the Interuniversity Center for the History and Archaeology of the Early Middle Ages, “Transformations in the Fifth Century: Italy, the Barbarians, and the Roman West”, Poggibonsi, 18–20 October 2007, with a paper entitled “Power Groups and Political Conditioning in the Fifth Century.”

2008: Organization of and participation in the 33rd International Colloquium of the Groupe de Recherche sur l’Esclavage dans l’Antiquité (G.I.R.E.A.), “Forms of Dependency in Transitional Societies”, University of Messina, 15–17 May 2008, with a paper entitled “Forms of Dependency and Agrarian Customs in the Patrimonia Sancti Petri.”

2008: Participation in the 18th International Conference on Roman Africa, Olbia, 11–14 December 2008, “Places and Forms of Trades and Production in the African Provinces”, with a paper entitled “Argentarii and nummularii in Roman Africa.”

2009: Participation in the 19th International Congress of the Accademia Romanistica Costantiniana, “Organizing, Supervising, Punishing: The Control of Bodies and Minds in Late Antique Law”, Spello–Perugia, 25–27 June 2009, with a paper entitled “The servi confugientes in ecclesiam and the Forgiveness of Masters.”

2009: Participation in the International Conference “Warriors, Merchants, Refugees and the Sick in the Sea of the Vandals”, University of Messina, 7–8 September 2009, with a paper entitled “Piam manum porrigere defessis. Tax Relief under Valentinian III and the Problem of the fiscus barbaricus.”

2009: Participation in the 9th EASR Conference “Religion in the History of European Culture”, University of Messina, 14–17 September 2009, with a paper entitled “Gregory the Great and Africa.”

2009: Participation in the Conference “Poverty, Economic Hardship and Social Rebellion in the Roman World”, Sapienza University of Rome, 22–23 October 2009, with a paper entitled “Megalodoría and sophía of Bulla Felix.”

2010: Participation in the Conference “Ravenna Capital: Society, Law and Institutions in the Ravenna Papyri (5th–8th Century)”, Ravenna, 14–15 May 2010, with a paper entitled “Institutional Problems of Fifth-Century Sicily through the Ravenna Papyri.”

2010: Participation in the 19th International Conference on Roman Africa, Sassari–Alghero, 16–19 December 2010, “Transformations of the Landscapes of Power in North Africa until the End of Antiquity”, with a paper entitled “Tax Collection in Vandal Africa.”

2011: Participation in the 15th Symposium on Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Catania, 3–5 March 2011, with a paper entitled “Vandals in the Mediterranean Sea: Sicily and its Role.”

2011: Participation in the International Conference “Feelings and Emotions in Ancient and Late Antique Historiography”, University of Palermo, 11–12 November 2011, with a paper entitled “The Tears of Scipio Aemilianus.”

2011: Participation in the Conference dedicated to Don V. Recchia, “Gregory the Great: A Man of Letters in Government”, University of Catania, 1–2 December 2011, with a paper entitled “Gregory the Great’s Administrative Policies in the Management of Ecclesiastical Patrimony in Sicily.”

2013: Participation in the 21st International Conference of the Accademia Romanistica Costantiniana, “Frontiers of Romanitas in the Late Antique World”, Spello, 18–20 September 2013, with a paper entitled “Economic Transformations and Social Aspects of Noricum in the Fifth Century through Eugippius’ Vita Severini.”

2013: Participation in the 36th Colloquium of the G.I.R.E.A., Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 11–12 December 2013, with a paper entitled “Inquilini sive servi.”

2014: Participation in the Symposium Veronense “The Age of Augustus”, University of Verona, 18–19 June 2014, with a paper entitled “Εὐχαὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν παίδων: Augustus and Some Honors to the Caesares Gaius and Lucius in the Roman East.”

2014: Organization of the International Conference “Between Constantine and the Vandals”, University of Messina, 29–30 October 2014.
2015: Participation in the Study Meeting “Silent Revolutions. Sicily from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages”, University of Catania – Piazza Armerina, 21–23 May 2015, with a paper entitled “Mediterranean Horizons in the Fifth Century: Sicily, the Vandals and Odoacer.”

2016: Participation in the interdisciplinary seminars on Methodology and Historiography of the Ancient World S. Mazzarino – G. Giarrizzo, “Paths of Antiquity between the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries”, as discussant for the paper “M.I. Rostovtzeff’s Geschichte der Staatspacht in der römischen Kaiserzeit: Private and Public in the Roman Economy”, Catania, Monastery of the Benedictines (former Faculty of Letters), 18 February 2016.

2016: Participation in the International Conference “Languages of the Strait in Material Documentation from Hellenism to Late Antiquity”, University of Messina, 10–11 May 2016, with a paper entitled “Latin and Greek in Lipari during the Age of Sextus Pompey.”

2016: Participation in the 39th Congress of the Groupe de Recherche sur l’Esclavage dans l’Antiquité (G.I.R.E.A.), “Historiography of Slavery”, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Getafe Campus), 6–7 October 2016, with a paper entitled “Ciccotti and the Problem of Slavery.”

2016: Participation in the study day promoted by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science within the framework of the International Research Project between the International Christian University and the Department of Ancient and Modern Civilizations of the University of Messina, “The Riace Bronzes: Iconography and Experimental Research”, University of Messina, 10 November 2016, with a paper entitled “Studium, morbus, insania or latrocinium? The Unquenchable Passions of an Art Collector in the First Century B.C.”

2017: Participation in the Seminar Study Day “Morbus et insania from Verres to Goebbels: Dialogue on Looted Art Collecting”, with a paper entitled “A Journey to Sicily in 74 B.C. in Search of Works of Art”, University of Messina, 20 April 2017.

2017: Organization of and participation in the Conference “The New Reality. The Principate of Augustus and the Organization of Consensus”, Department of Ancient and Modern Civilizations, University of Messina, 19 May 2017, with a paper entitled “The atrox fortuna of Gaius and Lucius Caesar.”

2017: Organization of and participation in the conference “Seeing Beyond. The Legacy of Santo Mazzarino Thirty Years after his Death”, University of Messina and Accademia Peloritana dei Pericolanti, 28 September 2017, together with Mario Mazza and Antonino Pinzone.

2018: Participation in the lecture series “Barbarian Roots: Cultural Impact in the Genesis of Modern Europe” organized by CAMNES – Center for Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies, Florence, former Church of San Jacopo in Campo Corbolini, 7 March 2018, with two lectures:

“The Barbarians and the Empire: Chronicle of a Foretold Death?”
“The Vandals and the Mediterranean.”

2018: Participation in the Conference “From Ancient Euergetism to Contemporary Solidarity Philanthropy”, Capo d’Orlando (Messina), Municipal Library Conference Hall, 6 May 2018, with a paper entitled “Politics and Welfare in the Golden Age of the Antonines.”

2018: Concluding remarks at the Seminar “Magika Hiera. Stars, Miracles and Magic between Past and Present”, Department of Ancient and Modern Civilizations, University of Messina, 24 May 2018.

2018: Participation in the Scientific and Organizing Committee of the International Conference “The Riace Bronzes and Fifth-Century B.C. Bronze Sculpture”; participation with a paper entitled “Ῥωμαίων μεγαλαυχία and Fatal Spoils: Observations on Tatian’s Catalogue of Statues (Ad Graecos 33–34)”, Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria and Department of Ancient and Modern Civilizations, University of Messina, 25–26 October 2018.

2018: Participation in the 41st International Colloquium of the Groupe de Recherche sur l’Esclavage dans l’Antiquité (G.I.R.E.A.), “The Faces of Empire: Mechanisms of Control and Strategies of Resistance”, Faculty of Letters, University of Coimbra, 8–10 November 2018, with a paper entitled “From poena belli to pretium pacis: The Evolution of the Idea of tributum in the Roman Empire.”

2018: Participation in the International Conference “Palermo in the History of the Mediterranean. From Prehistory to the Middle Ages”, organized by the Sicilian Institute for Ancient History “Eugenio Manni,” with a paper entitled “Resistendi praedonibus cura. Genseric’s Mediterranean Strategy between Judgments and Prejudices”, University of Palermo, 13–14 December 2018.

2019: Participation in the International Symposium Classicum Peregrinum “From Eros to Amor: What Kind of God was Eros, and how did he compare to Amor?”, organized by the University of Verona, Brandeis University, Pázmány Péter Catholic University, and University of Pécs, with a paper entitled “Pompey and the Decorative Program of the Campus Martius. Was it a Celebration of Eros?”, University of Pécs, Hungary, 20–22 June 2019.

2019: Participation in the International Seminar “The Collectio Avellana between Late Antique notarii and Early Medieval Copyists”, Perugia–Gubbio–Fonte Avellana, 19–21 September 2019, with a paper entitled “From Stenographers to Ambassadors: the notarii in Gregory the Great’s Registrum Epistularum.”

2019: Lecture at the Museo Archeologico Regionale Eoliano Luigi Bernabò Brea within the project “The Museum Tells Its Story. Meetings with Archaeology, Architecture and Art History”, entitled “Lipari in the Roman Age”, Lipari, 27 November 2019.
2020: Presentation of the volume “KTHMA ES AIEI: Studies and Memories in Honour of Giacomo Scibona”, edited by G. Mellusi and R. Moscheo, Messina 2017, Rometta (Messina), Town Hall Hall, 18 July 2020.

2020: Participation in the 16th Conference on Sicilian Studies “Mare nostrum. The Romans, the Mediterranean and Sicily between the 1st and 5th centuries AD”, Caltanissetta, Palazzo Moncada, 19 September 2020, with a paper entitled “The Rediscovered Centrality and Renewed Strategic Role of Sicily in the Fifth Century AD.”

2021: Online participation in the seminar organized by the University of Messina on the occasion of Holocaust Remembrance Day, “Persecutors, Persecuted: Biographies”, with a paper entitled “Marc Bloch. The Scholar and the Man”, 27 January 2021.

2021: Participation in the online seminar series “Sicily Protagonist”, organized by the University of Messina, with a lecture entitled “Roman Sicily”, 15 February 2021.

March–May 2021: Organization, together with Rosalba Arcuri, of the online seminar series in Roman History “Alterity in the Ancient World. The Romans and the Others: Conflicts, Coexistence and Integration.”

2021: Online participation in the second cycle of seminars on “The History of Ancient Sicily”, organized by the Chair of Roman History at the University of Catania, with a paper entitled “Sicily in the Fifth Century AD”, 20 April 2021.

2021: Online participation in the International Symposium Classicum Peregrinum 2021, organized by Peter Johnston (Brandeis University) and Gareth Williams (University of California, Berkeley), with a paper entitled “Power and the Symbols of Power of Sextus Pompey”, 21 June 2021.

2021: Presentation of the book by Marina Montesano, At the Margins of the Middle Ages. A Cultural History of Otherness (Rome 2020), at the Regional Museum of Messina, 17 September 2021.

2021: Online participation in the seminars of the S.A.I.C. (Scientific Society of the Archaeological School of Carthage), with a paper entitled “The Vandal Age. The Two Inscriptions of Batna Published by B. Chalal and X. Dupuis in BAA 2020: Review and Analysis of Epigraphic Evidence”, 22 September 2021.

2021: Member of the Scientific Committee (together with C. Donà, M. Montesano, L. Lozzigallo, M.S. Marchesi, F. Latella) of the “Messina Meetings on Magic Medieval and Modern: The Nordic Experience”, University of Messina, 13 October 2021.

2022: Participation in the 43rd International Congress of G.I.R.E.A., “Historical Slavery. Contemporary Ideology”, University of Málaga, with a paper entitled “Female Prostitution in Late Antiquity. A Singular Case in Syracuse”, 20–22 April 2022.

2022: Participation in the International Conference “Sicily between the Civil Wars and the Julio-Claudian Age”, Palermo, Archaeological Museum A. Salinas, with a paper entitled “New Arrangements of Land Ownership in Sicily after the Civil Wars”, 19–21 May 2022.

2022: Organization and participation in the Scientific Committee of the International Conference “For Diletta Minutoli Τέχνῃ καὶ σπουδῇ”, University of Messina, and participation with a paper entitled “Insights into Sicilian Economic and Social History in Sixth-Century Latin Papyri”, 20–21 September 2022.

2022: Participation in the International Conference “Transformations of Late Antique Cities into Early Medieval/Islamic Cities”, Ancient Cities V, with a paper entitled “Fragments of Urban Life in Italy between the Sixth and Seventh Centuries through the Letters of Gregory the Great”, Potenza–Acerenza, 3–4 October 2022.

2022: Participation in the International Conference L’AFRICA ROMANA XXII, Ancient Africa from the Republican Age to the Julio-Claudians, Sufetula–Sbeitla (Tunisia), with a paper entitled “Control of Africa in the Triumviral Period”, 15–19 December 2022.

2023: Participation in the Conference “The Earth and Living Beings. Genealogies of a Necessary Relationship”, University of Messina, with a paper entitled “Environmental Protection and Public Health in the Roman Empire”, 17–19 April 2023.

2023: Participation in the International Conference “The Vandals and the Mediterranean. Politics, Economy, Culture”, University of Naples Federico II, with a paper entitled “Mare nostrum vs. Wentilsêo: Parerga on Maritime Connectivity and Mediterranean Economy in the Fifth Century AD”, 20–21 April 2023.

2023: Participation in the International Workshop “Agrarian Changes and Rural Settlement Patterns in the Late Antique, Byzantine and Islamic Western Mediterranean”, University of Tübingen, with a paper entitled “Non totus messem generat ager: The Diversification of Production and the Late Antique Agricultural System”, 25–26 May 2023.

2023: Organization of the conference “Studio et ingenio. Conference in Memory of Gioacchino Francesco La Torre”, University of Messina, 12–13 June 2023.

2023: Participation in the Conference “Sicily, Crossroads of the Mediterranean”, Scicli, Town Hall, with a paper entitled “Gateway between East and West and Stepping Stone toward Africa: The Mediterranean Vocation of Sicily in Late Antiquity”, 13–14 October 2023.

2023: Participation in the 44th International Colloquium of G.I.R.E.A., “Poverty, Marginalization and Exclusion in the Ancient World”, Complutense University of Madrid, with a paper entitled “When Hunger Becomes Fear: The Expulsion of Resident Peregrini from Rome during Food Crises in the Fourth and Fifth Centuries AD”, 25–27 October 2023.

2023: Participation in the 15th Gregorian Days “Primordia rerum. The Ancient City and its Natural Environment”, Archaeological Park of Agrigento, with a paper entitled “Public Health Measures in the Roman Empire and the Urban Graveyard Effect”, 4–5 December 2023.
2024: Presentation of the volume by G. Zecchini, The Huns and the Two Empires, 20 May 2024, University of Naples Federico II.

2024: Participation in the Symposium Peregrinum 2024, Santa Maria Capua Vetere, “History-Changing Prophecies: Prophecy and Oracles that did or would have changed history”, with a paper entitled “The Prophecy of St. Severinus to Odoacer”, 11–13 June 2024.

2024: Participation in the International Colloquium “The Vandals and the ‘Others’”, Nice, Université Côte d’Azur, with a paper entitled “The Wives of the Hasdingi: Diplomatic Relations, Adfinitas, and the Law of Seniority”, 4–5 October 2024.

2024: Organization of the Study Meeting “The Roman Empire and the Barbaricum: Cultures and Economies in Comparison”, Messina, Accademia Peloritana dei Pericolanti, 18–19 November 2024.

2024: Participation in the same Study Meeting “The Roman Empire and the Barbaricum: Cultures and Economies in Comparison”, with a paper entitled “Public Euergetism and Private Luxury in Vandal Carthage”, Messina, Accademia Peloritana dei Pericolanti, 19 November 2024.

2024: Presentation of the volume by Mario Mazza, The Lesson of a Master. Writings on Santo Mazzarino, Messina, Aula Magna of the Department of Ancient and Modern Civilizations, University of Messina, 2 April 2024.

2025: Participation in the “Mondays of the Classical Tradition” seminar series, Catania seminars on ancient sciences, “History is not put on trial”, with a lecture entitled “The (Il)legitimate Power of Geiseric and the Mediterranean Strategy of the Vandals”, University of Catania, 5 May 2025.

2025: Participation in the conference “The Strait of Messina Area: Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Scenarios”, chairing a session, Messina, Accademia Peloritana dei Pericolanti, 8 May 2025.

2025: Participation in the study day organized by the Italian Institute for Ancient History on “The Sea that Corrupts. 25 Years Later”, with a paper entitled “Political Unification of the Mediterranean: A Driver of Connectivity?”, Rome, Istituto Italiano per la Storia Antica, 20 May 2025.

2025: Participation in the 12th Symposium Peregrinum, “Tyranny as a Political, Historical, Literary, Philosophical, and Religious Concept”, with a paper entitled “The τυραννίς of Odoacer”, Syracuse–Noto, 11–13 June 2025.

2025: Participation in the 27th International Conference of the Accademia Romanistica Costantiniana, “Women in Late Antique Legal Reality”, with a paper entitled “The Power of Amalafrida: Political Strategies, International Relations and Adfinitas in the West between the 5th and 6th Centuries”, Spello, 25–28 June 2025.

2025: Lecture entitled “In the Sign of Integration. Galla Placidia between Gothia and Romania”, within the seminar series “The Perception of Time between Antiquity, Modernity and Contemporary Times”, organized by the cultural association Anassilaos, Reggio Calabria, Archaeological Museum, 10 September 2025.

2025: Participation in the 17th Gregorian Days “Beyond Borders. People, Ideas and Cultures in Motion”, with a paper entitled “From Migration to the Creation of a Kingdom: The Case of the Vandals”, Lampedusa, Pelagie Islands Marine Protected Area, 24–26 October 2025.

2025: Organization of the International Conference “325–2025: Before and After Constantine and Nicaea”, Messina–Piraino, 27–28 October 2025.

2025: Participation in the symposium “The Intelligence of Faith: The Council as an Experience of the Church. 1700 Years after the Council of Nicaea and the 60th Anniversary of the Closing of the Second Vatican Council”, organized by Movimento Cristiano Lavoratori, Lumsa Master School, with a paper entitled “Between Church and State: Constantine’s Role in the Council of Nicaea”, Rome, LUMSA University, 25 November 2025.

2025: Participation in the seminar “Origines de Europa”, organized by the Association Urbs Regia, with a paper entitled “At the Roots of Europe: Interpretations of the ‘Fall’ of the Western Roman Empire in Modern Historiography”, Toledo, Centro Cultural San Clemente, 10–11 December 2025.

2026: Participation in the webinar series on “Society, Economy and Law in the Roman World – Optimus status civitatis”, as discussant on Arnaldo Marcone’s lecture “The Economy of the Villa in Late Antiquity: Continuities and Transformations”, 11 May 2026.

2026: Participation in the International Conference “The Ruling Elites in the Cities of the Greek and Roman Worlds: Continuity, Renewal, Mobility”, with a paper entitled “Evolution of Urban Elites in Sicily between the 5th and 6th Centuries”, University of Tours, 21–22 May 2026.
TEACHING
From 2002 to the present, at the University of Messina, she has taught “Roman History” in BA (three-year) degree programs in Literature (classical, modern, historical, archaeological curricula, and Italian language teaching for foreigners), in Philosophy, in Cultural Heritage Studies, and in Information Sciences: Publishing and Journalism.
“History of the Mediterranean in the Roman Age” in the BA program in Archaeological Heritage (Noto).
“Epigraphy, Institutions and Society of the Roman World” in the MA inter-class degree program (LM-2 / LM-15) Classical Tradition and Mediterranean Archaeology.
MEMBERSHIP IN DOCTORAL TEACHING BOARDS
From 2007 to 2013: member of the Doctoral Teaching Board in Archaeological and Ancient Historical Sciences at the University of Messina, where she regularly held lectures and seminars.
From 2014 to 2019: member of the Doctoral School in Historical, Archaeological and Philological Sciences at the University of Messina, with teaching and tutoring duties.
In 2016–2017: Coordinator of the 29th cycle of the PhD program in Archaeological and Ancient Historical Sciences at the University of Messina.
From 2018 to the present: member of the Doctoral School in Humanistic Sciences at the University of Messina, with teaching and tutoring responsibilities.
SUPERVISION OF PHD STUDENTS
2015: C. Mondello (28th cycle): “Eusebius of Caesarea and Ancient Historiography. The Case of the Praeparatio Evangelica.”
2016: F. Dell’Oro (29th cycle): “Antoninus Pius and the Province of Asia”, in co-supervision with the École Doctorale d’Histoire (ED 113), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (co-supervisor F. Chausson).
2018: V. Smedile (31st cycle): “Political, Economic and Cultural Dynamics in Palmyra during the First Three Centuries of the Empire.”
2020: F. Rosaci (33rd cycle): “The Rise and Political Decline of the Isaurians in the Fifth Century AD.”
She has served as a member of admission committees and final examination boards for PhD programs (at the Universities of University of Messina, University of Pisa, University of Calabria, University of Basilicata, and Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne) and in competition committees for positions as Researcher and Associate Professor (at the Universities of Messina, Milan State University, University of Basilicata, and University of Naples Federico II).

Principal Investigator of Research Projects (PRA – University of Messina)

She has been the scientific coordinator of Research Projects of the University of Messina (PRA), funded by university budget resources:

PRA 2002: The Papyrus of Lauricius and Pierius: Research on the Economic and Social History of Fifth-Century Sicily.
PRA 2003: Papyrological Documentation in the Socioeconomic History of Late Antique Sicily.
PRA 2004: Social, Economic and Institutional Aspects in Sicilian Hagiography (Roman Sicilian and Byzantine Sicilian Periods).
PRA 2005: Social Marginality and Welfare Systems in the Late Antique Mediterranean.
PRA 2006–2007: Forms of Dependency and Labour in Church Estates in Italy (6th–7th Centuries).
PRA 2008–2009: Poverty, Social Disorder and Banditry in the Roman Empire.
Participation in National Research Projects of Relevant Scientific Interest (PRIN)

PRIN 1994: Member of the National Research Project of Relevant Scientific Interest
“Towards a critical-textual revision, translation and commentary of Diodorus of Agyrium’s Bibliotheca historica” (National Coordinator: M. Mazza).

1996: Participation in the Strategic Project “The Mediterranean System”, promoted by the National Committee for Historical, Philosophical and Philological Sciences of the Italian National Research Council (CNR), with M. Barra Bagnasco, E. De Miro, and A. Pinzone.

PRIN 1997: Member of the National Research Project
“Relations between Sicily and Southern Italy in the Roman Republican Period” (National Coordinator: M. Mazza; Scientific Director of the Research Unit: A. Pinzone).

PRIN 1999: Member of the National Research Project
“The Cities of North-Eastern Sicily and Southern Calabria in the Hellenistic-Roman Period” (National Coordinator: M. Mazza; Scientific Director of the Research Unit: A. Pinzone).

PRIN 2000: Member of the National Research Project
“City and Countryside in Sicily and Magna Graecia from the Hellenistic Age to Late Antiquity” (National Coordinator: M. Mazza; Scientific Director of the Research Unit: A. Pinzone).

PRIN 2003: Participation in the National Research Project
“Poverty and Disease in Sicily and Southern Italy in Late Antique and Early Byzantine Times” (National Coordinator: M. Mazza; Scientific Director of the Research Unit: A. Pinzone).

PRIN 2006: Member of the National Research Project
“Care of the Body and Care of the Soul: Material Emergencies, Social Tensions and Spiritual Sublimations in Southern Italy and Sicily in Late Antiquity” (National Coordinator: M. Mazza; Scientific Director of the Research Unit: A. Pinzone).

PRIN 2015: Participation as Scientific Coordinator in PRIN 2015 (positively evaluated but not funded): “Contested Peripheries in the Ancient Eastern Mediterranean. Territorial Disputes, Political Transformations and Flexible Identities in Plain Cilicia from the Early Iron Age to Late Antiquity (10th century BCE – 7th century CE)” (National Coordinator: G. Salmeri; Scientific Director of the Research Unit: E. Caliri).

2016: Participation in a research group supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, involving the Tokyo University of the Arts (Prof. Koichi Hada) and Musashino Art University (Prof. Takashi Matsumoto and Prof. Hirotake Kurokawa), within the international project “Greek Bronze Sculpture and the Collection of Greek Works in the Roman World.”

PRIN 2018: Participation as Scientific Coordinator in PRIN 2018 (positively evaluated but not funded): “Local Responses to Mediterranean Mobility. A Multidisciplinary Approach” (P.I.: M. Varvaro; Scientific Director of the Research Unit: E. Caliri).
INSTITUTIONAL APPOINTMENTS
2007–2011: Representative of faculty members belonging to Area 5 (Classical Studies, Philological-Literary and Historical-Artistic Sciences) in the Academic Senate of the University of Messina.
2014–2017: Member of the University Quality Assurance Board (Presidio della Qualità di Ateneo) of the University of Messina.