Bernard John Lucci Endowed Chair in Italian Studies

Tim McCall, PhD

Tim McCall, PhD, is the inaugural Bernard John Lucci Endowed Chair in Italian Studies. He is an internationally recognized scholar whose research centers on Italian Renaissance art, Italian Early Modern constructions of gender and sexuality, Medieval and Early Modern Italian courts, histories of fashion, material culture and constructions of aristocratic male beauty. Dr. McCall received his BA in English from Georgetown University and earned his MA and PhD in History of Art from the University of Michigan.

Dr. McCall is the author of more than 30 scholarly publications, including two books, Making the Renaissance Man: Masculinity in the Courts of Renaissance Italy (2023) and Brilliant Bodies: Fashioning Courtly Men in Early Renaissance Italy (2022). At Villanova, he enjoys teaching courses on Renaissance and Medieval Art, Race and the Renaissance, Theories and Methods in History, as well as seminars on Leonardo da Vinci and Material Culture, among other subjects.

 

About the Bernard John Lucci Endowed Chair in Italian Studies

The Bernard John Lucci Endowed Chair in Italian Studies was established by a $11 million bequest gift, also supporting opportunities for lifelong learning through the College of Professional Studies (CPS) and the new Falvey Library at Vic Maggitti Hall—designations chosen in honor of Mr. Lucci’s personal connection to Villanova. 

Mr. Lucci began taking classes at Villanova in 2005 through CPS’ Senior Citizen Personal Enrichment Program, which offers lifelong learning opportunities for those seeking personal and intellectual growth. Mr. Lucci would go on to take 10 Italian culture and language courses at the University from 2005-2012, inspired by his family, who emigrated from northern Italy. Most recently, Mr. Lucci resided in Jeffersonville, Pa. He passed away in 2023 at the age of 86.