Did you see how many things I told you?
Martina Lancia
“Did you see how many things I told you?” is a research project based on interviews conducted both in Rome and New York with the people that I consider closest and dearest to me, composed by family and extended family, friends and other people that have an important significance in my life. The intent behind this project is to preserve the lives, memories, and family histories of these people, in an attempt to keep them with me even as time inevitably goes by. The idea occurred to me after someone very close to me suddenly passed away before I could interview them. This is my way of trying to avoid that from happening again, rediscovering, after living far away for a long time, the importance of starting research close to home.
Born and raised in Rome, Martina has a background in contemporary history, business and international cooperation, with degrees from Sapienza University of Rome and LUISS.
Martina’s passion for oral history stems from the work of Ascanio Celestini, a playwright and performer who uses oral history to create live shows and films steeped in the contemporary history of both Rome and Italy. After spending time working in the Circolo Gianni Bosio archive on the interviews about the Massacre of Fosse Ardeatine, her thesis on the same topic examined the impact this event left in the individual memories of the women and collective memory of German occupied Rome.
Her research interests vary from Rome and its contemporary history to ethnomusicology and family stories.
Martina is an avid reader, especially Post-War Italian literature like Pierpaolo Pasolini, as well as 20th century American literature like Steinbeck, Hemingway and Salinger. She also loves comics like Zerocalcare, Hugo Pratt and Gipi.
For her thesis project at OHMA, Martina interviewed the people closest and dearest to her both in Rome and New York, in an attempt to preserve their memories and life stories. Her work can be found at: https://www.martinalancia.com/ohma-thesis After graduating from OHMA, Martina would like to keep researching and hopes to pursue a Phd in Italian Studies with a focus on oral and contemporary Italian history.