Paolo Orsi (

Rovereto Rovereto (; "wood of sessile oaks"; locally: ''Roveredo'') is a city and ''comune'' in Trentino in northern Italy, located in the Vallagarina valley of the Adige River. History Rovereto was an ancient fortress town standing at the frontier b ...

, October 17, 1859 – November 8, 1935) was an Italian archaeologist and classicist.

Life

Orsi was born in

, then part of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

and now in the province of

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th centu ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. After studying at a gymnasium in Rovereto, Orsi moved to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

to study ancient history and archaeology. Continuing his studies at the

University of Padua The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from ...

and graduating in Rome, he next studied at Rome's ''Reale scuola italiana di Archeologia'' (Italian School of Archaeology),

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...

's school of classical art, and Rome's school of

palaeontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

. Refusing offers of several university posts, Orsi decided to concentrate on field research and publications. During his studies, he discovered the prehistoric zone of

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

Mori Mori is a Japanese and Italian surname, and also a Persian pet name for Morteza. It is also the name of two clans in Japan, and one clan in India. Italian surname * Barbara Mori, Uruguayan-Mexican actress *Camilo Mori, Chilean painter * Cesa ...

Trentino Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous region ...

. After a brief period in a teaching post at

Alatri Alatri ( la, Aletrium) is an Italian town and '' comune'' of the province of Frosinone in the region of Lazio, with c. 30,000 inhabitants. An ancient city of the Hernici,Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hernici". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ...

, he took a position at the general directorate of antiquities and fine arts, and then the ''

Biblioteca nazionale centrale di Firenze The National Central Library of Florence ( it, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze, BNCF) is a public national library in Florence, the largest in Italy and one of the most important in Europe, one of the two central libraries of Italy, alo ...

'' (National Central Library of Florence). In 1890 Orsi won a competition to become inspector of excavations and museums. He was invited to

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy * Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' * Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...

, where he devoted himself to studying the origins of the '' Sicani'' and ''

Sicels The Sicels (; la, Siculi; grc, Σικελοί ''Sikeloi'') were an Italic tribe who inhabited eastern Sicily during the Iron Age. Their neighbours to the west were the Sicani. The Sicels gave Sicily the name it has held since antiquity, b ...

'', and of the cities of '' Thapsos'' and ''

Megara Hyblaea Megara Hyblaea ( grc, Μέγαρα Ὑβλαία) – perhaps identical with Hybla Major – is an ancient Greek colony in Sicily, situated near Augusta on the east coast, north-northwest of Syracuse, Italy, on the deep bay formed by the Xip ...

''. In his work on the ''monti Iblei'' and the valley leading to the sea, he discovered temples,

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

es, walls, palaces, coins and other remains of the ancient city of

Casmene Casmenae or Kasmenai ( grc, Κασμέναι, Casmene in Italian) was an ancient Greek colony located on the Hyblaean Mountains, founded in 644 BC by the Syracusans at a strategic position for the control of central Sicily. It was also inte ...

. He wrote an interpretation of the architecture of the ''Basilica di San Foca'' at Priolo. As commissioner of the Museo Nazionale di Napoli for a short time (1900 - 1901), Orsi still left an indelible mark. He laid the foundations for the museum's global re-organization (brought to fruition under its next director

Ettore Pais Ettore Pais (27 July 1856, Borgo San Dalmazzo, Piedmont, Italy – 1939, Rome) was an ancient historian, Latin epigrapher, and an Italian politician. Pais was the son of Michele Pais Leoni, a nobleman from Sassari, Sardinia and Carlotta Tranch ...

) and identification of ten major collections of materials. In 1907 Orsi transferred to

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label= Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label= Calabrian Greek, Ρήγι, Rìji), usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria. It has an estimated popul ...

, where he became director of the ''Sovraintendenza Calabra per gli Scavi''. He contributed to the founding of the

Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia The Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia (''National Museum of Magna Græcia''), Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Reggio Calabria (''National Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria'') or Palazzo Piacentini is a museum in Reggio Calabria, souther ...

. He worked at Reggio,

Locri Locri is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, southern Italy. Its name derives from that of the ancient Greek region of Locris. Today it is an important administrative and cultural centre on the Ion ...

and

Rossano Calabro Rossano is a town and ''frazione'' of Corigliano-Rossano in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, southern Italy. The city is situated on an eminence from the Gulf of Taranto. The town is known for its marble and alabaster quarries. The town i ...

, where he continued his studies of

Magna Grecia Magna Graecia (, ; , , grc, Μεγάλη Ἑλλάς, ', it, Magna Grecia) was the name given by the Romans to the coastal areas of Southern Italy in the present-day Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania and Sicily; these ...

. In city excavations he found an Ionic temple, ancient walls, and the sites of

Medma Medma or Mesma (Greek: , Steph. B.; , Strabo, Scymn. Ch.; but on coins, and so Apollodorus of Damascus, cited by Steph. B.; Scylax has , evidently a corruption for ), was an ancient Greek city of Southern Italy (Magna Graecia), on the west coas ...

and

Krimisa Krimisa, Crimisa or Crimissa was a small ancient city in Magna Graecia, probably originating in the 7th century BC, situated in Calabria in the region of Punta Alice. It was inhabited by an indigenous people assimilated by the Greeks. Origin and ...

. In 1924 he was appointed a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

and returned to

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. Although he refused a university chair, Orsi continued to work with the Syracuse museum (which now bears his name) in his retirement. He wrote more than 300 works, for which he won the ''Gran Premio di Archeologia dell'Accademia dei Lincei''. His preferred areas were Syracuse, Calabria, Rovereto and

South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous province , image_skyline = , image_alt ...

. He was one of the founders of the ''Società Italiana di Archeologia'' in 1909. Students in Vienna long studied his works on Trentino alongside those of

Federico Halbherr Federico Halbherr (Rovereto, then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, 15 February 1857 – Rome, 17 July 1930) was an Italian archaeologist and epigrapher, known for his excavations of Crete. A contemporary, good friend, and trusted advisor of Arth ...

. The annual ''Rassegna del cinema archeologico'' (held at the Museo Civico di Rovereto and for a couple of years at

) was dedicated to Orsi and Halbherr.

External links

Paolo Orsi

IL POPOLO DELLA VALLE DELLA SIGNORA

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orsi, Paolo 1859 births 1935 deaths People from Rovereto People from the County of Tyrol Italian classical scholars Italian archaeologists Classical archaeologists