A new "meet our staff" video introduces Dr Lorenzo Dell’Oso’s research on Dante, medieval intellectual culture and AI, alongside a major new collaboration with the University of Notre Dame and a series of recent distinctions for his scholarship. In 2026, his research has received international recognition through a Notre Dame–Durham Seed Grant and two prizes for his latest book.
Dr Lorenzo Dell’Oso, Assistant Professor of Italian Studies at Durham University’s School of Modern Languages and Cultures, is celebrating a series of recent achievements that highlight the international reach and interdisciplinary character of his research on Dante and medieval intellectual culture.
From a new Meet the Staff video exploring Dante, the Middle Ages and artificial intelligence, to a major research collaboration with the University of Notre Dame and several prestigious awards for his latest book, 2026 has been an exciting year for Dr Dell’Oso’s research.
Meet the Staff: Dante, the Middle Ages and AI
A new Meet our Staff video offers an introduction to Dr Dell’Oso’s research and explores his work at the intersection of medieval studies and artificial intelligence.
The video looks at how AI can be used to help bring aspects of the medieval world, including its soundscapes, back to life. It also introduces some of the questions at the heart of Dr Dell’Oso’s research on Dante and the intellectual culture in which the poet developed.
The video provides an accessible introduction to his research and to the ways in which new technologies can open up innovative approaches to medieval literature and culture.
Watch the Meet the Staff video
New international research collaboration with the University of Notre Dame
Dr Dell’Oso is Principal Investigator on a new Notre Dame–Durham Seed Grant project, in collaboration with Professor Theodore Cachey of the University of Notre Dame.
Entitled “Dante Among Theologians: Mapping the Scholastic Soundscape of the Italian Middle Ages and the Formation of the Commedia (c. 1304–1321)”, the two-year project has been awarded almost $29,000 in funding, including over £10,000 for Durham University.
The project will investigate the intellectual and cultural environment in which Dante developed his thought, with particular attention to the theological and scholastic contexts surrounding the composition of the Commedia.
As part of the project, the research team will organise two international workshops and develop an application for a larger international research grant. The collaboration further strengthens the strategic partnership between Durham University and the University of Notre Dame.
Recognition for Il poeta alle «scuole delli religiosi»
Dr Dell’Oso’s recent research on Dante has also received significant recognition.
His book, Il poeta alle «scuole delli religiosi». Dante, Pietro delle Travi e il convento di Santa Croce (1294–1296), published by Carocci in 2026, examines a crucial period in Dante’s intellectual development and the influence of Franciscan theology on his early works. The book focuses on Peter of Trabibus, a Franciscan theologian at the convent of Santa Croce in Florence, and reconstructs Dante’s engagement with the intellectual world of the religious schools during the years 1294–1296.
The book has now received two further distinctions in 2026:
In May 2026, Dr Dell’Oso received the Comune di Pontremoli “Pier delle Vigne” Prize for Medieval Studies – Young Scholars Category.
The award recognises his research into Dante’s intellectual formation within the wider context of European philosophical and theological debate at the end of the thirteenth century. The prize citation highlighted the originality and scholarly rigour of his reconstruction of the relationship between Dante and the intellectual culture of the Florentine religious schools, describing the book as providing new access to the intellectual world that shaped the young poet and the foundations of the Commedia.
Dr Dell’Oso has also been awarded the “Leva la testa e fa che t’assicuri” Prize 2026, presented by Lions Clubs International in Battipaglia, Salerno. The prize committee is chaired by Paolo D’Achille, President of the Accademia della Crusca. The recognition further celebrates the contribution of Dr Dell’Oso’s research to the study and understanding of Dante and medieval Italian intellectual culture.
These awards add to Dr Dell’Oso’s growing international recognition, following the Kleinhenz Prize for Publication awarded by the Dante Society of America in December 2025.
Dante research at the intersection of tradition and innovation
Together, these developments highlight the breadth of Dr Dell’Oso’s research, connecting close study of medieval sources with questions about knowledge, sound, technology and the circulation of ideas.
His work demonstrates how research into medieval Italian culture can engage with contemporary technologies and international collaborations while continuing to uncover new perspectives on one of the most influential writers in European literary history.
Through his research, teaching and collaborations, Dr Dell’Oso is helping to bring Dante and the intellectual world of the Middle Ages into dialogue with new audiences and new forms of scholarship.
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