Riccardo Stigliano, MA, researcher in the SFB‑related project Scanderbegus Latinus – The Image of Skanderbeg in Neo‑Latin Literature at the University of Innsbruck (Department of Classical Philology and Neo‑Latin Studies), has been awarded a doctoral mobility grant by the University of Ottawa. Stigliano is enrolled in a joint PhD program with the University of Pisa and will spend September–November 2026 as a visiting scholar at uOttawa.

Stigliano’s doctoral research focuses on Procopius of Caesarea, the sixth‑century Byzantine historian who documented the military campaigns of Emperor Justinian. 

Specifically, Stigliano is preparing a scholarly commentary on the third book of Procopius’ Wars – the first book of the so‑called Vandal War, which chronicles the Byzantine campaign to recover North Africa from the Vandal Kingdom. This work continues directly from the foundational scholarship of Professor Geoffrey Greatrex in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies at uOttawa. Professor Greatrex, a leading expert on Procopius and late antique military history, has already published a commentary on the first two books of Procopius’ Wars. During his stay at uOttawa, Stigliano will work closely with Professor Greatrex, benefiting from his unparalleled expertise and contributing to ongoing efforts to make Procopius’ text more accessible to scholars and students.

The Doctoral Mobility Program of the University of Ottawa enables advanced researchers like Stigliano to spend time at uOttawa working with faculty whose research aligns with their own. Stigliano’s research will advance our understanding of how Byzantine historians represented imperial ambitions and military power, while also deepening the scholarly dialogue between European and Canadian institutions.