Ottavia Spaggiari is an investigative journalist and long-form writer.

Her work has appeared in The Guardian long read, The New Yorker, Slate, Al Jazeera and others.

Her long-form on human traffickers' impunity in Italy has been shortlisted for the 2021 European Press Prize in the "distinguished reporting" category. The piece has also recently been optioned for screen adaptation.

Ottavia has been an investigative fellow at Columbia Journalism School’s Global Migration Project and a recipient of the Investigative Journalism for Europe grant.

She has worked in London for CNN International and in Milan for Vita, the Italian leading news website and magazine focusing on social issues.

From development aid to migration issues, Ottavia has covered a wide range of topics, reporting from several European Countries, sub-Saharan Africa and the US.

She received her Master of Arts in Politics and Global Affairs from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she was a San Paolo fellow.

She speaks Italian, English, French, Spanish and she is currently studying Arabic. In May 2019 she published her first novel, "Il Mio Funerale e Altre Cose Poco Importanti."

Ottavia believes that wherever there is a human being there's always a good story to tell.

Ottavia Spaggiari

Basic information

Name
Ottavia Spaggiari
Title
Investigative Journalist
Expertise
Sevelopment aid, migration, gender-based violence, police brutality
Country
United States
City
New York

Supported projects

Magma Environmental Reporting Fellowship

  • Journalism & Media

FIRENZE - Applications are now open for the second edition of the Magma Environmental Reporting Fellowship! The deadline for applications is 31 August 2025.

Under the Tuscan Sun - The Human Cost of a Glass of Wine

  • Agriculture
  • Exploitation
  • Migration

TUSCANY / ISLAMABAD - Most associate the Italian wine country — such as Tuscany, the Langhe and the Prosecco hills — with scenic vineyards where some of the world's most-renowned wine is made but, for many living and working under the Italian sun, the reality is far from idyllic.

72 hours that changed Belarus

  • Corruption
  • Human Rights
  • Politics

MINSK - 72 Hours That Changed Belarus tells the story of the post-election collapse of human rights in the country through the first-hand experiences of those affected the most: a young couple injured by a stun grenade, a recent law graduate who documented torture and later fled to protect herself and the evidence, a blogger and a student who were tortured inside the infamous Okrestina jail in Minsk.

Mentor for

The Lives of Italy’s Rose Sellers Are Anything but Romantic

  • Agriculture
  • Exploitation
  • Migration

ROME / DHAKA - Of the many cases chronicling the exploitation of South Asian migrant workers in Italy, none is perhaps more visible yet underreported than the plight of rose sellers – a common sight in busy tourist destinations like Rome, Milan or Turin.