Gilda Zazzara is Assistant Professor in Contemporary History at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, where she teaches Labour History and Environmental History. Her area of specialization is Italian history after 1945, with a focus on the history of leftist intellectuals, trade unions and workers’ movements. She has completed a significant amount of archival and oral history research on the labour cultures of Northeastern Italy. Gilda is also engaged in non-academic activities such as the training of workers’ representatives for Italy’s largest union, as well as local historical research. In addition, Gilda serves as a member of the board of the Venetian Institute for the History of Resistance and Contemporary Society (Iveser), and on the board for the journal «Venetica». For many years, Gilda has been working on the history and memory of labour at Porto Marghera, a massive (former) industrial area across the Venice lagoon. Gilda met the field of deindustrialization studies quite recently, but it turned out to be a breakthrough, moving her focus to the unmaking of the Venetian working-class, and to its social, political, cultural, urban, and environmental consequences. Gilda is currently working on a book on the “farewell” of Porto Marghera, largely drawing on the voices of its former workers. On this topic, she recently created the podcast series Strade di Porto Marghera, broadcasted by the national radio, and available for listening online.
Email: gildazazzara@unive.it
