Francesca LaPasta, the 2027 Emeline Hill Richardson/Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Rome Prize in Ancient Studies, is a PhD candidate in Classical Archaeology in the Department of Ancient Greek and Roman Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. She is currently working on her dissertation, titled Living under Lock and Key: Slavery and Security in the Houses of Pompeii. For the past five years, she has spent her summers undertaking research in Pompeii as a finds specialist and archival analyst, both as part of the Pompeii Artifact Life History Project (PALHIP), directed by J. Theodore Peña (American Academy in Rome Fellow 1983–1985), and independently. She spent the past year as the Resident Instructor at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome, leading passionate students through the archaeological sites and museums of the city. Francesca’s work investigates material culture, the Roman built environment, and Latin literature in order to create nuanced understandings of the lives of marginalized people in the ancient world.
Look, up in the sky! It's two alums inspecting buildings and bridges!
Cornellians
