rose basile was born on december 19, 1914, in new rochelle, new york, the daughter of salvatore and carolina galgano basile. her father's family migrated to the united states from the town of calitri in southern italy. she grew up on a farm in harwinton, connecticut, where she and her siblings went to school in a one-room schoolhouse. she received a b.a. in english from the college of new rochelle in 1935, an m.a. in italian studies from columbia university in 1941, and a ph.d. in american civilization from the university of pennsylvania in 1962.