About this Event
The HIS Cluster is planning to host Italian historian Fabio Capano, who is affiliated with our history department, for his book talk on Cold-War-era Trieste: Cold War Trieste Nationalism, Diplomacy, and "Italianità" in a Contested Borderland. Mario Del Pero, Professor of International History at SciencePo and currently Henry Alfred Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy and International Relations at the Library of Congress, will be our discussant.
Tuesday, December 8
5:30 - 7:00 PM EST
Abramson Family Founders Room, American University School of International Service
About the Book:
“In this insightful, meticulously researched study, Capano reveals the complexities of Italian nationalist ideology and advocacy in the contested Yugoslav-Italian border regions, making sense of the cacophony of voices that shaped local relations and Italian foreign policy from the end of World War II to the 1975 Osimo Accords and beyond.” — Maura Hametz, Professor of History, James Madison University
“Fabio Capano’s book traces how Trieste – the ‘unruly city’ – was a symbol of Italianità, a Cold War hotspot, and a bridge between Italy and the Socialist Bloc. It is a major contribution to the literature of contemporary Italy and of the Cold War and deserves to be widely read. Italian nationalism was much more resilient than many believe, Capano argues. Cold War Trieste illustrates his point well.” — Mark Gilbert, C. Grove Haines Professor of History, Johns Hopkins University
A captivating journey through the tumultuous socio-political landscape of a contested city, this book investigates the enduring influence of nationalism as a political ideology in Cold War Italy. It views this topic through the lens of a disputed borderland teetering on the southern edge of the Iron Curtain between 1945 and 1975. Taking a multidimensional approach, the author explores the entanglement of local, national, and international politics in shaping projected meanings of the border’s Italianità within public discourse from containment to détente. It narrates how the views and actions of a wide array of political actors and émigré associations left an indelible imprint on the city’s historical memory and its Italian community. Drawing on a rich tapestry of primary sources, this book ultimately offers readers a panoramic view of Cold War Trieste and its contested borderland.
About the Author:
Born and raised in Trento, Italy, Dr. Fabio Capano is a historian and researcher specializing in nationalism, Cold War geopolitics, and European borderland identities. His perspective is shaped by a unique blend of academic rigor, private-sector experience, and service in a NATO peacekeeping mission in Albania. Capano holds a Ph.D. in European History and a Master in Public Policy from West Virginia University, with additional degrees in international studies from the University of Trento. His research explores the intersection of local and international politics in the Mediterranean and Southeastern Europe, culminating in my book, Cold War Trieste: Nationalism, Diplomacy, and Italianità in a Contested Borderland (Peter Lang, 2026). By utilizing extensive archival sources, this work highlights the role of non-state actors and memory in shaping identity along the Iron Curtain. Capano's broader scholarship addresses transatlantic relations and European integration, specifically the influence of 20th-century ideologies on contemporary political landscapes.
About the Discussant:
Dr. Mario Del Pero is a professor of international history at Sciences Po, Paris, where he teaches courses on the United States in the world, the Cold War, and 20th– and 21st-century global history. His publications include “In the Shadow of the Vatican: Texan Evangelical Missionaries in Cold War Italy” (Cambridge, 2025); “Libertà e Impero: Gli Stati Uniti e il Mondo, 1776-2011” (Laterza, 2017, 3rd ed.); “Era Obama: Dalla Speranza del Cambiamento all’Elezione di Trump” (Feltrinelli, 2017); and “The Eccentric Realist: Henry Kissinger and the Shaping of American Foreign Policy” (Cornell University Press, 2009).
Before joining Sciences Po, Del Pero taught at the University of Bologna for 12 years. He has also held teaching positions or visiting professorships at New York University, Columbia University, Dickinson College, the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. He has held fellowships at the Kluge Center of the Library of Congress, the European University Institute, and the Tamiment Center at New York University.
Del Pero runs a blog and regularly comments on US and international politics for Italian and Swiss public radio programs and for SkyNews. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Bologna and a doctorate in history from the University of Milan. He is a research fellow at Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale in Milan and a member of the board of the doctoral program of the Scuola Normale of Pisa and the Standing Committee of the School of International Studies of the University of Trento.
Event venue & nearby stays
American University, School of International Service, Founders Room, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, United States
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.