Bellarmino Bagatti (November 11, 1905 – October 7, 1990) was a 20th-century Italian

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

priest of the

Franciscan Order The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

Life

Camillo Bellarmino Bagatti was born in 1905 in the

province of Pisa The province of Pisa () is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Pisa. With an area of and a total population of 421,642 (), it is the second most populous and fifth largest province of Tuscany. It is subdivided i ...

. At the age of 17 he made his solemn profession in the

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (commonly called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; Post-nominal letters, postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a Mendicant orders, mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis ...

in the

Province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of San Francesco on Monte della Verna in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

. In 1928, at the age of 23, he was ordained a priest. Dedicated from a young age to the Franciscan art, he was trained in archaeological research at the Pontifical Academy of Archaeology, where he graduated (magna cum laude) in June 1934 with an important thesis on the Roman catacomb of Commodilla."Padre Bellarmino Bagatti", ''La Civiltà Cattolica'', Edizioni 3037-3042, Rassegna Bibliografica, p. 512 From 1935 he was professor of Jerusalem topography and Christian archaeology at the

Studium Biblicum Franciscanum Studium Biblicum Franciscanum (SBF), Latin for 'Franciscan Biblical Studies', is a Franciscan academic society based in Jerusalem. It is a center of biblical and archaeological research and studies, established by the Franciscan Custody of the H ...

in Jerusalem where he played, from the beginning, a role of great importance in the publication of unpublished itineraries of the Holy Land, and the archaeological exploration of ancient Christian shrines. In 1941, with Father Sylvester Saller, he began the series Studium Biblicum Franciscanum Collectio Maior and in 1951, with Father Donato Baldi, he founded the magazine ''Studium Biblicum Franciscanum Liber Annuus''. During the Second World War, he was interned by the British authorities, along with other Franciscans of Italian and German nationality, in the internment camp of Emmaus-Qubeibeh. In the decade 1968–1978 he was Director of the Studium and for many years he was also a teacher in the International Theological Study of the

Custody of the Holy Land The Custody of the Holy Land (Latin: ''Custodia Terræ Sanctæ'') is a Custos (Franciscans), custodian priory of the Order of Friars Minor in Jerusalem, founded as the ''Province of the Holy Land'' in 1217 by Saint Francis of Assisi, who had als ...

. In the academic year 1973-74 he wanted to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the Studium and his work was rewarded with a significant letter of gratitude that Cardinal Jean Villot, Secretary of State, addressed to the Minister General of the Order on behalf of

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

. He died on October 7, 1990, in the Franciscan Convent of St. Saviour in Jerusalem. Since 1997 he has been buried in the cemetery of Mount Zion in Jerusalem.

Archaeological excavations

Bagatti was responsible for numerous excavation campaigns in Italy, Palestine, Israel and Jordan; with his studies he made a decisive contribution to the progress of biblical archaeology in the field of Palestinology. * Rome: Cemetery of Commodilla (1933–34) * Jordan:

Mount Nebo Mount Nebo (; ) is an elevated ridge located in Jordan, approximately Height above sea level, above sea level. Part of the Abarim mountain range, Mount Nebo is mentioned in the Bible as the place where Moses was granted a view of the Promised L ...

(1935) ** Khirbet al-Mukhayyat (at different times) * Israel and Palestine **

Church of the Beatitudes The Church of the Beatitudes () is a Roman Catholic church located on the Mount of Beatitudes by the Sea of Galilee near Tabgha and Capernaum in Israel. History The church is located on a small hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee, the traditiona ...

(1936) ** Church of the Visitation at Ein Karem (1938) ** Emmaus-Qubeibeh (1940–44) **

Church of the Nativity The Church of the Nativity, or Basilica of the Nativity, is a basilica located in Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine. The grotto holds a prominent religious significance to Christianity, Christians of various denominations as the Nativity of Jesus, ...

, Bethlehem (1948) ** Dominus Flevit on the

Mount of Olives The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet (; ; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge in East Jerusalem, east of and adjacent to Old City of Jerusalem, Jerusalem's Old City. It is named for the olive, olive ...

(1953–55) **

Basilica of the Annunciation The Church of the Annunciation (, , ), sometimes also referred to as the Basilica of the Annunciation, is a Catholic Church, Catholic church in Nazareth, in northern Israel. It is one of two claimants to the site of the Annunciation – in whic ...

, Nazareth (1954-1971) ** Georgian graffiti of Nazareth and Sinai (1955-1960) ** Stella Maris Monastery,

Mount Carmel Mount Carmel (; ), also known in Arabic as Mount Mar Elias (; ), is a coastal mountain range in northern Israel stretching from the Mediterranean Sea towards the southeast. The range is a UNESCO biosphere reserve. A number of towns are situat ...

(1960–61)

Dominus Flevit

In 1953 the Franciscans began construction of wall on property they held on the

. While digging the foundations, workers unearthed ancient tombs. Excavations began at the site, led by Fr. Bellarmino Bagatti, OFM. Over the course of the next two years a Canaanite tomb from the Late Bronze Age, as well as a necropolis used from 136 BC to AD 300 were discovered. A Byzantine monastery from the 5th century was also discovered. Mosaics from this monastery still remain at the site which is now occupied by the Dominus Flevit Church.

Nazareth

Bagatti carried out extensive excavation at Nazareth from 1954 to 1971 and uncovered pottery dating from the Middle Bronze Age (2200 to 1500 BC) and ceramics, silos and grinding mills from the Iron Age (1500 to 586 BC) which indicated substantial settlement in the Nazareth basin at that time. He also unearthed quantities of later

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

artifacts.B. Bagatti, ''Excavations in Nazareth'', vol. 1 (1969), pp. 272–310. His discoveries indicate that the village now known as

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

was no more than a small

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

in the 1st century. Bagatti found a number of kokh-type tombs in the Nazareth area.

Works

Among his writings are: *''Excavations in Nazareth, Volume 1, From the Beginning till the XII Century (1971)'' and ''volume II, From the 12th century until Today'' *''The church from the circumcision: history and archaeology of the Judaeo-Christians''. His thesis on the Church of Zion, Jerusalem (1976) gained the support of Emmanuel Testa but is not generally accepted by the majority of archeologists.

References

External links

: SBF Studium Biblicum Franciscanum
{{Authority control Archaeology of Israel 1905 births 1990 deaths 20th-century Italian archaeologists Biblical archaeologists Italian biblical scholars Italian expatriates in Israel Italian Franciscans Roman Catholic biblical scholars