I am a PhD student at the Institute of Advanced Studies (IUSS) in Pavia, and an editorial board member of the Student Organization of Linguistics in Europe (starting March 2024). I'm currently spending six months at the Laboratoire de Linguistique Formelle (Université Paris Cité) as a visiting PhD student.
My work focuses on the syntax and acquisition of specific infinitive-taking verbs (known as 'restructuring verbs') in Italian and other Romance languages, under the supervision of Adriana Belletti and Cristiano Chesi.
In my free time, you can find me drawing, taking photos of my friends, or playing music. Additionally, my recent dive into Python and web development has allowed me to integrate programming with my research interests (see some of my projects below) ✨.
Current Projects
Belief / Intention and Clause Size
Conducted with Achille Fusco, this project investigates verbs whose interpretation varies with the structural size of their complement clause (e.g. convincere ‘convince’). Comparing Italian di-infinitives (belief readings) and a-infinitives (intention readings), we argue that the contrast is driven by clausal size: reduced complements license intention readings, while larger, propositional structures yield belief interpretations. The project further explores how this mapping is grounded in the event structure of matrix predicates and supported by cross-linguistic evidence.
Fusco & Sgrizzi (2026); Fusco & Sgrizzi (forthcoming); Fusco & Sgrizzi (in prep)
Restructuring and Control in LLMs
Conducted with Asya Zanollo and Cristiano Chesi, this project evaluates whether Large Language Models can internalize abstract syntactic constraints by probing the restructuring/control distinction in Italian. Using diagnostics such as clitic climbing, auxiliary selection, and Cinque’s (2006) Functional Hierarchy, and testing both attested verbs and novel pseudoverbs, we assess whether models develop genuine structural representations or rely on surface-level regularities. The results expose a systematic gap between fluency and grammatical generalization.
Sgrizzi, Zanollo & Chesi (2025); under review; in prep
At the Edges of the Growing Trees
This research project investigates children’s developmental trajectories through the lens of the Growing Trees Hypothesis (Friedmann et al. 2021). I examined how children acquire restructuring verbs as compared to control verbs, providing evidence in favor of a functional view of restructuring. I also investigated the Root Infinitive stage, proposing a Split-Feature Inheritance approach (Citko et al. 2018) to the labeling of non-finite root clauses. Currently, I am exploring a parallel between root (morphological) infinitives and early past participial structures in French and Italian, under the supervision of Caterina Donati and as part of my current research stay at Université Paris Cité. More specifically, we ask whether these structures can be understood as fossils of a “stage 0” of the Growing Trees Hypothesis. In joint work with Giacomo Presotto and Jacopo Torregrossa, we then investigated later stages of development, examining whether the stage-defined structural complexity posited by the Growing Trees Hypothesis continues to shape children’s grammars up to the age of seven.
Sgrizzi (2024); under review; Sgrizzi, Presotto & Torregrossa (submitted)
