Italian director Federico Fellini was older than his American peers at his first nomination and, like other foreigners, had not been nominated for his earlier masterworks, "La Strada" and "Nights of Cabiria", though both films had won the Best Foreign-Language Picture in 1956 and 1957, respectively. Fellini later received an Honorary Oscar in 1993, which was basically a compensatory gesture.
"Nights of Cabiria" was directed by an Italian.