Sylvia Poggioli
Sylvia Poggioli is senior European correspondent for NPR's International Desk covering political, economic, and cultural news in Italy, the Vatican, Western Europe, and the Balkans. Poggioli's on-air reporting and analysis have encompassed the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, the turbulent civil war in the former Yugoslavia, and how immigration has transformed European societies.
Since joining NPR's foreign desk in 1982, Poggioli has traveled extensively for reporting assignments. These include going to Norway to cover the aftermath of the brutal attacks by a right-wing extremist; to Greece, Spain, and Portugal reporting on the eurozone crisis; and the Balkans where the last wanted war criminals have been arrested.
In addition, Poggioli has traveled to France, Germany, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Sweden, and Denmark to produce in-depth reports on immigration, racism, Islam, and the rise of the right in Europe.
She has also travelled with Pope Francis on several of his foreign trips, including visits to Cuba, the United States, Congo, Uganda, Central African Republic, Myanmar, and Bangladesh.
Throughout her career Poggioli has been recognized for her work with distinctions including the WBUR Foreign Correspondent Award, the Welles Hangen Award for Distinguished Journalism, a George Foster Peabody, National Women's Political Caucus/Radcliffe College Exceptional Merit Media Awards, the Edward Weintal Journalism Prize, and the Silver Angel Excellence in the Media Award. Poggioli was part of the NPR team that won the 2000 Overseas Press Club Award for coverage of the war in Kosovo. In 2009, she received the Maria Grazia Cutulli Award for foreign reporting.
In 2000, Poggioli received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Brandeis University. In 2006, she received an honorary degree from the University of Massachusetts Boston together with Barack Obama.
Prior to this honor, Poggioli was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences "for her distinctive, cultivated and authoritative reports on 'ethnic cleansing' in Bosnia." In 1990, Poggioli spent an academic year at Harvard University as a research fellow at Harvard University's Center for Press, Politics, and Public Policy at the Kennedy School of Government.
From 1971 to 1986, Poggioli served as an editor on the English-language desk for the Ansa News Agency in Italy. She worked at the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy. She was actively involved with women's film and theater groups.
The daughter of Italian anti-fascists who were forced to flee Italy under Mussolini, Poggioli was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She graduated from Harvard College with a bachelor's degree in romance languages and literature. She later studied in Italy under a Fulbright Scholarship.
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French lawmakers are calling for legal action against several rap musicians for allegedly inciting violence and racism in last month's suburban riots. Rap artists say the music reflects economic and social reality, and shouldn't be blamed for the unrest. -
As France suffered weeks of riots last month, the colorful southern port of Marseille was spared. The city has one of France's highest concentrations of immigrants, but residents there do not live in segregated communities.
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Scores of buildings, paintings and sculptures throughout Italy are deteriorating, as state funds to preserve them lag. A nonprofit foundation is trying to shock Italians into taking responsibility for their unique art heritage.
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Amid new economic challenges, some Italian wine makers turn away from the mass global wine market to develop wines that appeal to specialty markets. The emphasis is on skill and individuality -- and a return to grapes that had fallen out of favor. -
An American architect has designed a glass and marble museum that will house the 2,000-year-old Ara Pacis, Rome's "Altar of Peace." It will be the first structure added to the Eternal City's ancient historic center in seven decades. -
Pope Benedict XVI is creating a style of his own, though he's less likely to encourage a cult of personality than his predecessor. He's a hit with young Catholics gathering in Cologne, and he's reaching out to other faiths, too. -
Pope Benedict XVI returns to his homeland to take part in World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany. This is the new pope's first international event since his election four months ago. Observers will watch closely to see whether he has the same impact on the world's young Catholics as his predecessor. -
Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Germany, returning to his homeland to lead celebrations culminating in World Youth Day on Sunday. Thousands of young Catholics from around the world have traveled to Cologne to join the celebrations.
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Rome's Colosseum hosts an exhibit of sculpture from the mystery cults of Greek and Roman antiquity. The display documents secret religious rituals, some of which are still practiced today.
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Italian magistrates are considering a British request for the extradition of a suspect in the July 21 attempted bombings in London. The suspect was arrested in Rome Friday after an international manhunt.
