Maria Letizia Bellocchio is Assistant Professor in the Department of French and Italian at the University of Arizona. She earned a Ph.D. in Comparative Studies from the University of Siena in 2007 and a Ph.D. in Italian from Rutgers University in 2014. Her current research examines the tension between tradition and innovation in the filmic construction of the politics, practices and symbolic values of the Italian family. Her areas of expertise are Film Studies, 19-20-21 century Italian Literature and Theatre, Intermediality, Italian Culture and Law. She published articles and presented papers on Cinema and Theatre. She edited the book Finestre Firenze: Le Monnier, 2006) and the Special Issue of the journal Italian Quarterly on Italian business in Post-War Italy 2017) She is working on two book projects: Italian Family Law in Contemporary Cinema and Visconti and Shakespeare. Cinema and Theatre.