Joseph Rossi (June 5, 1902-December 15, 1980) was born in the Abruzzo region of Italy. He attended the Royal Normal School in Italy before coming to the United States in 1923. He earned his B.S. (1928) and M.A. (1929) degrees at Columbia University and his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1934). He joined the faculty in the Department of French and Italian in 1934 and became a full professor in 1951. He left the University of Wisconsin-Madison to accept a position at the University of Arizona where he taught until his retirement in 1978.
Rossi wrote over 35 works on Italian literature and the cultural and historical influence of Italy on America. In 1969, he was knighted by the Italian government for his contributions in the field of Italian studies in the United States.
