Faculty

Simari, Elizabeth

About

Elizabeth Simari holds an MA in Italian Literature from Middlebury College in Florence (2010). At Middlebury, she studied the intersection of Italian literature and food history. From 2010-2016, she worked as a journalist, translator, and graphic designer for the English edition of the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano. In 2013, she earned a sommelier certificate from the Italian Sommelier Association and began developing courses on wine for university students in Rome. She has taught the JFRC's Summer Fusion course “Discovering Italy: Food, Wine & Photography of Rome and Abruzzo” for four summers. She gives private wine tastings and food tours around Rome and has worked as a translator for Mark Bittman and as a food writer for The New York Times. Most recently, she researched Nancy Pelosi's Italian heritage for the forthcoming book Madam Speaker by Susan Page, USA Today's Washington Bureau Chief. She also teaches at Gustolab International Food Systems and Sustainability.

Degrees

• MA, Italian Literature, Middlebury College, Florence
• BA, Italian and English, University of Notre Dame

Research Interests

• Modernization and globalization of Italian food
• Immigrant food culture
• Fermentation