Marco - Leverhulme Early Career Fellow

What tips do you have for PhD students who might be considering doing an Early Career Fellowship?

"The first thing to clarify is where you want to live for the next several years! These fellowships often require a lot of sacrifices for your personal life. You’d need to consider moving to another city to secure a position. I was very lucky to end up with a postdoc position in the city I was already living, but this is quite rare. For those wanting to stay in the UK, the main opportunities I’d recommend are the British Academy and the Leverhulme Trust Fellowships.

Pursuing a research fellowship is a life choice. If you choose this highly competitive (and moderately paid) career path, you need to think it through carefully.  

Networking is also key. Engage with people in your field, attend conferences, and explore different angles of your discipline. Research evolves rapidly, and historical studies today are very different from those a decade ago. Learning to use digital tools effectively (if not proficiently) is becoming essential for researchers."

How was the application process?

"In order to get my Leverhulme Fellowship, I had to make a convincing argument that Nottingham was the best place in the world to conduct my research.

My work focuses on early medieval coastal communities, doing an interdisciplinary analysis on coastal marshland in Tuscany. The University of Nottingham has leading scholars in these fields (Chris Loveluck for coastal communities, and Ross Balzaretti for early medieval Italy). Additionally, the university provides all the necessary resources and expertise for this kind of
interdisciplinary analysis, generating opportunities for interdepartmental
collaboration and exchange. These factors played a crucial role in strenghtening my application."

Tell us more about your research…

"I’m a historian who loves to dialogue with other disciplines such as archaeology, geography, Earth science, and anthropology. 

In these environments, places like Pisa, Ravenna, Comacchio, and Venice flourished during this period despite the challenges of living in wetland environments. I'm investigating how these communities managed land use, resource gathering, trade, and environmental adaptation.

Marshlands were often seen as dangerous, with diseases like malaria making them difficult places to inhabit. They were also commonly described as defensive barriers, protecting settlements from invaders. However, they also offered valuable economic resources. My principal case study is Pisa, in northern Tuscany, one of the major regions in the Mediterranean in terms of availability of written and archaeological sources, making it an ideal site for this kind of interdisciplinary research."

How have you found collaborating with the Departments of History and Classics and Archaeology?

"I know these two departments since my PhD, it is the first time I feel fully integrated into both. So far, it's been great to take part in their research activities and collaborate with colleagues from different backgrounds. 

Beyond research, I’m involved in teaching, which is a core part of the School of Humanities. This year, I’m teaching along with my medievalist colleagues ‘Making the Middle Ages’, a first-year history module. I’ve also started supervising undergraduate dissertations. Seeing students engage with their research and knowing that my expertise can be useful for others is really rewarding."

What are your ambitions for after your Fellowship?

"I have different plans, depending on the opportunities that arise. I don't want to limit myself and my future career to just one country, so I’m keeping my options open according to the directions of the job market.

If a permanent position isn’t available, I would apply for major research grants, such as a European Research Council Fellowship, a Marie Curie Global Fellowship, or a Von Humboldt Fellowship in Germany. I already have two projects in mind: one would extend my current research on Pisa, while the other would focus on my home region, Trentino, in Italy. However, I'm always open to developing new ideas and taking on different opportunities.

The most immediate priority is to strengthen my CV. Over the next two years, I need to publish at least two high-quality journal articles and ideally come out with another book – or at least a book draft. One ‘side quest’ I’m working on, in fact, is adapting my master’s dissertation into a book. I’ve already spoken with two publishers who are interested. When I have a few chapters ready, I’ll aim to get a contract with one of them. That would be a good starting point for whatever comes next."