Gianni Cicali (Florence, Italy) is a specialist in the history of Italian theater. He holds doctoral degrees from both Italy (Università di Firenze) and Canada (University of Toronto) and is a professor in the Department of Italian Studies at Georgetown University.

His interests focus on Italian theater and culture from the 15th to the 18th century; Renaissance and Baroque religious theater; cinema; migrations of Italian theater professionals to the Americas; and the Federal Theatre Project (USA 1935-39). His last book is Teatro ed Eresia nel Settecento Italiano (2021). He is also author Attori e ruoli nell’opera buffa italiana del Settecento (2005), and he also authored L’Inventio crucis nel teatro rinascimentale fiorentino (2012). He edited (with E. Mazzoleni, and A.M. Testaverde), Migrazioni teatrali e artistiche tra Europa e Americhe (2024). With Elena Mazzoleni he edited Dramaturgies et littératures en voyage special issue of Cahiers de littérature française (2020). Cicali also edited Teatro italiano fra testo performance e scena, special issue of Quaderni d’Italianistica (2015) He has published several articles on Italian Renaissance and Baroque theater, literature and arts, and on 18th-century theater.

Gianni Cicali has been Editor-in-chief of Quaderni d’Italianistica (journal of the Canadian Association for Italian Studies) from 2011 to 2015, and he is a member of the Advisory Board of Letteratura teatrale italiana (Italy), Quaderni d’Italianistica (Canada), Elephant & Castle (Italy) and Gentes(Italy) and a member of the editorial board of Renaissance and Reformation(Canada, till 2026). He is also member of the advisory board of AMAtI (Archivio Multimediale dell'Attore Italiano, Univ. di Firenze, Italy).