It is with great sadness to inform members of the Faculty of the death of Professor Martin McLaughlin, Emeritus Agnelli-Serena Chair of Italian and Fellow of Magdalen College. Martin passed away peacefully at Sobell House at 6.30 on Friday morning.

Many members of the Faculty knew Martin very well as a kind, generous and wise colleague and will miss him greatly. He moved to Oxford in 1990 first as University Lecturer and Student of Christ Church and then as Agnelli-Serena Professor of Italian Studies from 2001 to his retirement in 2017.  He was one of the outstanding Italian scholars of his generation, publishing a seminal book on literary imitation in the Italian Renaissance, and many other fundamental books, editions and translation of both Alberti and Calvino, alongside scores of publications on other Renaissance and modern topics and authors. He was a prize-winning translator and was awarded the Serena Medal for Italian literature by the British Academy.

The Faculty extends its sincerest condolences to Martin's wife, Catherine, to his family and friends, and to members of the Italian sub-faculty.

Professor Jonathan Thacker

Chair of Faculty

Professor Martin McLaughlin (1950-2025) - Magdalen College