Guido Alfani Awarded the 2026 Serena Medal

Guido Alfani, Professor of Economic History at Bocconi University, has been awarded the 2026 Serena Medal by the British Academy. The medal recognizes outstanding contributions to the study of Italian history, philosophy, music, literature, art or economics.

Guido Alfani has spent much of his career investigating how the distribution of wealth and socioeconomic opportunity change over the long term. Drawing on eight centuries of history, his work combines quantitative analysis with an understanding of the societies behind the numbers. The award motivation reads, among other things, that “Guido Alfani is arguably the most productive and influential Italian economic historian of his generation. His scholarship represents a masterful synthesis of rigorous econometric approaches and a profound sensitivity to the social and cultural textures of the past 800 years of Italian history. Alfani has dedicated his career to tackling the fundamental drivers of long-term economic development.”

On accepting the Medal, Guido Alfani has commented “I am deeply honored to be awarded the Serena Medal for 2026 and to join such a distinguished community of outstanding scholars from across the social sciences and the humanities. I am gratified that the British Academy has seen fit to recognize a career devoted to the study of Italian economic history, from the Renaissance to the early modern period. Topics like economic inequality and social (im)mobility are close to my heart and, unfortunately, are a source of growing social concern. I believe that historical research on these topics has very valuable insights to offer.”

Two research projects funded by the European Research Council have been central to Alfani’s work. EINITE examined economic inequality across Italy and Europe from 1300 to 1800; SMITE investigated inequality and social mobility over the same period. His 2023 book, As Gods Among Men: A History of the Rich in the West, already translated or in the course of being translated into 12 languages beyond English, extends the inquiry to the history of the wealthy in Western societies.

First awarded in 1920, the Serena Medal honors scholars who have advanced the study of Italy.