Amedeo Maiuri

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Amedeo Maiuri

Amedeo Maiuri (born January 7, 1886 in Veroli ; died April 7, 1963 in Naples ) was an Italian classical archaeologist .

Maiuri was the son of Giuseppe and Elena Maiuri, née Parsi. Partly in public schools, partly privately taught, he was sent to the Liceo Visconti in Rome . After passing school with excellent results, he began his studies at La Sapienza University in Rome. He studied Greek and Byzantine literature, Greek history, history of philosophy, art history and Italian literature, with Nicola Festa and Gaetano De Sanctis , among others . His studies were particularly influenced by Federico Halbherr , who taught epigraphy and Greek antiquity, surrounded by the nimbus of the Crete excavator and discoverer of the great inscription of Gortyn . At Nicola Festa he received his doctorate with a thesis on the Byzantine poet Theodoros Prodromos .

On the advice of Halbherr, Maiuri took a course in archeology and continued his education at the Italian archaeological schools in Rome and Athens. In Greece he gained experience on all the important excavations of the time: in Athens , Olympia , Epidauros , Delphi and above all on Crete , where Maiuri met his sponsor Halbherr again. As a result of the Italo-Turkish War , Rhodes and the islands of the Dodecanese were occupied by Italy. This was used to set up a permanent archaeological mission on Rhodes. In 1914 Maiuri was entrusted with the management of this mission after he had previously worked for the Missione Archeologica Italiana di Creta , the predecessor institution of the Scuola Archeologica Italiana di Atene founded in 1909 , and had participated in excavations there. Maiuri founded and managed an archaeological museum in Rhodes in the former hospital of the Order of St. John , which had been converted into a barracks by the Turks and which he had restored for this purpose. He examined all the archaeological centers of Rhodes and restored the island's medieval churches, palaces and fortifications. The results of the numerous investigations appeared in twelve volumes as Clara Rhodos. Studi e materiali pubblicati a cura dell 'Istituto storico-archeologico di Rodi from 1928 to 1942 under the co-editing of Maiuris.

Panorama of the excavations in Herculaneum

After ten years in this position, he succeeded Vittorio Spinazzola as director of the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, director of the excavations in Pompeii and Herculaneum and director of the Soprintendenza di Napoli . In Pompeii he exposed the Villa dei Misteri and the Casa dell'Efebo, among other things . His research and dating suggestions initiated there are still part of the scientific discourse today. In addition to his extensive activities in Pompeii and Herculaneum, Maiuri was involved in researching the Paestum , founded by the Greeks , and in 1932 he discovered the Cave of the Sibyl in Cumae . His investigations into the Tiberius villa on Capri were also important .

During the Second World War he was primarily concerned with protecting the museum's treasures from war-related dangers: from Nazi art thieves, from vandals and, using sandbags, from Allied bombs.

In addition to his duties as soprintendent, Maiuri taught Latin and Greek at the University of Naples. The torch model of the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960 was inspired by Maiuris, who used torch representations from ancient monuments. In 1961 he retired. As a result of his active research he became a member of numerous institutions, academies and holder of the Order of the Crown of Italy . Maiuri has written well over 300 articles and books that have been reprinted in numerous languages ​​and in numerous editions.

Memberships and honors

Publications (selection)

  • Rodi. Guida dei monumenti e del Museo archeologico di Rodi . Tipolitografia del Comando del Corpo d'occupazione, Rhodes 1918.
  • Rodi . Alfieri, Roma 1921.
  • Nuova silloge epigrafica di Rodi e Cos . Le Monnier, Firenze 1925.
  • Pompei: Visioni italiche . Milan 1928.
  • La Villa dei Misteri . Istituto dello Stato, Rome 1931.
  • Ercolano . Instituto Geografico de Agostini, Roma / Novara 1932.
  • La casa de Menandro e il suo tesoro di argenteria . Libreria dello Stato, Rome 1932.
  • I Campi Flegéi: dal sepollcro di Virgilio all'Antro di Cuma . Libreria dello stato, Roma 1934; German: The antiquities of the Phlegraean fields from the tomb of Virgil to the Cave of Cumae . Libreria dello Stato, Rome 1983.
  • Breviario di Capri . Rispoli, Naples 1937.
  • Campania romana: Studi e materiali . Volume 1. Instituto di studi romani, Naples 1938.
  • Passeggiate campane . U. Hoepli, Milan 1938.
  • L'ultima fase edilizia di Pompei . Istituto di studi romani, Rome 1941.
  • La cena di Trimalcione di Petronio Arbitro . Pironti, Naples 1945.
  • Introduzione alla storia romana . L. Loffredo, Naples 1948.
  • Introduzione allo studio di Pompei . Casa Editrice Raffaele Pironti, Naples 1949.
  • Pompei ed Ercolano: Fra case e abitanti . Le tre Venezie, Padua 1950.
  • La casa a Pompei . Raffaele Pironti e Figli, Naples 1951.
  • Pompeian murals . Translated by Peter Heinrich von Blanckenhagen . W. Klein, Baden-Baden 1953.
  • Studi e ricerche sull'anfiteatro Flavio puteolano . Gaetano Macchiaroli, Naples 1955.
  • Capri, storia e monumenti . Istituto poligrafico dello Stato, Rome 1956.
  • Vita d'archeologo: cronache dell'archeologia napoletana . Montanino, Naples 1958.
  • Arte e civiltà nell ́Italia antica . Touring Club Italiano, Milan 1960.
  • Lettere di Tiberio da Capri . Fiorentino, Naples 1961.
  • Dall'Egeo al Tirreno . L'Arte tipografica, Naples 1962.
  • Herculaneum and the Villa of the Papyri . Istituto geografico de Agostini, Rome 1963.
  • Passeggiate in Magna Grecia . Arte tip., Naples 1963.

literature

  • Pier Giovanni Guzzo:  Maiuri, Amedeo. In: Mario Caravale (ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 67:  Macchi – Malaspina. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 2006.
  • Centro studi Ciociaria (Ed.): Gli archeologi italiani in onore di Amedeo Maiuri . Cava dei Tirreni 1965.
  • Carlo Belli (Ed.): Mestiere d'archeologo - Antologia di scritti di Amedeo Maiuri . Garzanti, Scheiwiller 1978.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Maiuri, Amedeo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian classical archaeologist
DATE OF BIRTH January 7, 1886
PLACE OF BIRTH Veroli
DATE OF DEATH April 7, 1963
Place of death Naples