Giovanni Battista de Rossi
Giovanni Battista de Rossi , (also Gian Battista de Rossi ), (born February 23, 1822 in Rome , † September 20, 1894 in Castel Gandolfo ) was an Italian Christian archaeologist and epigraphist . He is considered the founder of scientific Christian archeology and early Christian epigraphy.
De Rossi studied law in Rome and published his first archaeological work in several magazines. At first he mainly dealt with the early Christian inscriptions and then, under the guidance of his teacher and role model Giuseppe Marchi, became a pioneer in researching the Roman catacombs . From around 1850 he discovered 27 catacombs, including the Calixtus catacomb .
In 1847 the historian Theodor Mommsen wrote a letter to de Rossi asking for his support with the monumental work Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum of the Prussian Academy of Sciences . An intensive friendly relationship developed from this collaboration.
In 1847 he became a member of the Pontificia Accademia Romana di Archeologia , in 1853 he became a corresponding member, and in 1851 a full member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences . In 1867 he became a foreign member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences , in 1886 he received the order Pour le Mérite .
He has published the results of his research in numerous works, including in the "Bulletino di Archeologia cristiana", which he published himself from 1863 onwards.
Works (selection)
- Inscriptiones christianae Urbis Romae septimo saeculo antiquiores (Vol. I, Rome 1861; Vol. II Rome 1888).
- La Roma Sotterranea Cristiana (vol. I Rome 1864; vol. II Rome 1867; vol. III Rome 1877).
- Mosaici delle chiese di Roma anteriori al secolo XV (Rome 1872–87).
Appreciations
- Albo dei sottoscrittori per la medaglia d'oro in onore del commendatore Gio. Batt. de Rossi: e relazione della solennità nel presentarla in Laterano ... 1882. Rome 1882 (with list of publications)
- Albo dei sottoscrittori pel busto marmoreo del Comm. GB de Rossi e relazione dell'inaugurazione fattane ... 1892: sopra il Cimitero di Callisto per festeggiare il sessantesimo anno del principe della sacra archeologia. Rome, Cuggiani 1892.
- Paul Maria Baumgarten : Giovanni Battista de Rossi the founder of Christian archaeological science: a biographical sketch. Cologne, Bachem 1892.
- Paul Maria Baumgarten: Giovanni Battista de Rossi. In: The Catholic Encyclopedia New York 1908.
- Antonio Baruffa: Giovanni Battista DeRossi: l'archeologo esploratore delle Catacombe . Città del Vaticano, Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1994. ISBN 88-209-2010-7
- Pontificia Commissione de Archeologia Sacra: Giovanni Battista De Rossi e le catacombe novels . Città del Vaticano 1994.
literature
- Stefan Heid : Art. Giovanni Battista de Rossi . In: Stefan Heid, Martin Dennert (Hrsg.): Personal Lexicon for Christian Archeology . Researchers and personalities from the 16th to the 21st century , Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-7954-2620-0 , Vol. 1, pp. 400–405.
Web links
- Literature by and about Giovanni Battista de Rossi in the catalog of the German National Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | De Rossi, Giovanni Battista |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | De Rossi, Gian Battista |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian archaeologist and epigraphist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 23, 1822 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Rome |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 20, 1894 |
| Place of death | Castel Gandolfo |