Professor Emeritus of Italian
Born in Genoa, Italy, Patrizio Rossi (1930–2005) earned a Doctorate in Modern Languages and Literature from the University of Florence in 1957. After moving to the United States in 1958, he attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned an M.A. in Italian (1960) and a Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literatures (1963). He joined the faculty of the Department of French and Italian at UCSB in 1966. Patrizio focused his research and teaching on Italian cinema, literature, and culture.
Spanning the intersection of Italian Studies and early film history programs, Patrizio had the foresight to form a Film Studies Program by bringing together various UCSB colleagues to collaborate in teaching cinema. As a longtime Chair of Film Studies, he also brought leading European and American scholars to campus as well as important figures in the Hollywood community. The Program became the nucleus of today’s Film and Media Studies Department. Patrizio’s work contributed significantly to establishing Italian cinema as a distinct area of academic research within Foreign Language and Comparative Literature Departments during the late 20th century.
Patrizio’s scholarship examined the transition from Italian Futurism and Romantic literary traditions into the socio-political aesthetic of neo-realist masters like Luchino Visconti, Federico Fellini, and Roberto Rossellini. His most well-known scholarly contribution is the book Roberto Rossellini: A Guide to References and Resources (1988). This publication stands as a foundational reference for scholars studying director Roberto Rossellini and the evolution of Italian Neorealism, serving as a definitive, annotated reference guide detailing the filmography, critical reception, and biographical history of this legendary Italian filmmaker.