Mario Torelli (May 12, 1937 – September 15, 2020) was an Italian scholar of Italic archaeology and the culture of the

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. Af ...

. He taught at the

University of Perugia The University of Perugia ( Italian ''Università degli Studi di Perugia'') is a public university in Perugia, Italy. It was founded in 1308, as attested by the Bull issued by Pope Clement V certifying the birth of the Studium Generale. The offi ...

. Torelli was born in

Rome, Italy Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. He was trained by the art historian

Ranuccio Bianchi Bandinelli Ranuccio Bianchi Bandinelli (19 February 1900 – 17 January 1975) was an Italian Archaeology, archaeologist and Art history, art historian. Biography Bianchi Bandinelli was born in Siena to Mario Bianchi Bandinelli (1859–1930) and Margheri ...

as well as by

Massimo Pallottino Massimo Pallottino (9 November 1909 in Rome – 7 February 1995 in Rome) was an Italian archaeologist specializing in Etruscan civilization and art. Biography Pallottino was a student of Giulio Quirino Giglioli and worked early in his career on ...

. Torelli completed his laurea degree at the University of Rome "La Sapienza" in November 1960, writing a thesis on the site of Falerii Veteres. He held many posts during his professional life, beginning as an assistant at the center for ancient art history in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

(1960–1962), followed by a stint as archaeological inspector of the Villa Giulia Museum in Rome (1964–1969). He was appointed a professor of

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and

Roman art The art of Ancient Rome, and the territories of its Republic and later Empire, includes architecture, painting, sculpture and mosaic work. Luxury objects in metal-work, gem engraving, ivory carvings, and glass are sometimes considered to be m ...

history at the

University of Cagliari The University of Cagliari () is a public research university in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. It was founded in 1606 and is organized in 11 faculties. History The ''Studium Generalis Kalaritanum'' was founded in 1606 along the lines of the old ...

in 1969, and served in that position until 1973. He was also instrumental in the excavations of the sanctuary at the site of Gravisca. Torelli joined the faculty of the

in 1975; he was appointed as full professor (professore ordinario) of Archaeology and the History of Greek and Roman Art on 1 November 1976. His position was supplemented with appointments that included the areas of Magna Graecia (1995-2000) and Etruscan and Italic Archaeology (from 2000). During his long archaeological career, Torelli directed and supervised a number of archaeological excavations. These included work on the Etruscan sanctuary of Menerva at

Santa Marinella Santa Marinella is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, in the Italy, Italian region of Lazio, located about northwest of Rome. It includes the beach resort of Santa Severa (the ancient Pyrgi), and a medieval ca ...

(1964-1966), the Etruscan sanctuary of the Porta Caere at

Veii Veii (also Veius; ) was an important ancient Etruscan city situated on the southern limits of Etruria and north-northwest of Rome, Italy. It now lies in Isola Farnese, in the comune of Rome. Many other sites associated with and in the city-st ...

(1966-1969), the Greek mercantile sanctuary of Gravisca (1969-1979), the extra-urban sanctuary of Aphrodite-Venus at

Paestum Paestum ( , , ) was a major Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea, in Magna Graecia. The ruins of Paestum are famous for their three ancient Greek temples in the Doric order dating from about 550 to 450 BCE that ...

(1982-1985), and excavations at Heraclea that included the sanctuary of Demeter (1985-1986) and the agora (1987-1991). He was a visiting professor at a number of institutions, including;

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a Public university, public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a Federated state, state, it is the fla ...

(1974);

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

at Ann Arbor (1978);

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

(1979); École Normale Supérieure de Rue d’Ulm in Paris (1984); Université de Paris I – Sorbonne (1985);

Collège de France The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...

(1986);

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

(1986); Nellie Wallace lecturer at

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

(1988), and

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

(1993). In the fall semester of 1982 Torelli was a member of the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholars, including Albert Ein ...

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

, and was a Getty Scholar at the Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1990–1991. In 1992 he delivered th
Thomas Spencer Jerome
lecture at the University of Michigan with the topic "Roman Historical Reliefs: The Structure and Shaping of Ancient Attitudes", which resulted in the publication of a typological study of Roman historical relief sculpture. He was a member of the Deutsches Archaeologisches Institut, and a member of the Istituto Nazionale di Studi Etruschi in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. In 2013 Torelli received an honorary doctoral degree ''honoris causa'' from the Universidad de Jaén. On September 8, 2014, Torelli was awarded the Balzan Prize for Classical archaeology.

Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano (; 29 June 1925 – 22 September 2023) was an Italian politician who served as President of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first to be re-elected to the office. In office for 8 years and 244 days, he was the longest-serving pre ...

, then president of the Republic of Italy, presented Torelli with the award in Rome on November 20, 2014. The citation praises the "innovative character" of Torelli's work and his deep commitment to archaeology. Torelli died in Donnalucata di Scicli (Ragusa), Sicily.

Selected works

*
Elogia tarquiniensia
' (Florence, 1975)Review: Principes of Tarquinia Reviewed Work: Elogia Tarquiniensia (Studi e Materiali di Etruscologia e Antichità Italiche XV) by Mario Torelli Review by: T. J. Cornel
''The Journal of Roman Studies'' Vol. 68 (1978), pp. 167-173
/ref> * (with Martha Welborn Baldwin)
Latin Inscriptions in the Kelsey Museum: The Dennison Collection
' (Kelsey Museum Studies; 4) (Ann Arbor, 1979) *
Necropoli dell'Italia antica
' (Milan, 1982) *
Typology & structure of Roman historical reliefs
' (Ann Arbor, 1982) *
Storia degli etruschi
' (Rome-Bari, 1981) *
Lavinio e Roma : riti iniziatici e matrimonio tra archeologia e storia
' (Rome, 1984) *
La società etrusca : l'età arcaica, l'età classica
' (Rome, 1987) * (with Pierre Gros)
Storia dell'urbanistica : il mondo romano
' (Rome-Bari, 1988); 2nd edition 2009. *
La daunia nell'età della romanizzazione
'
Edipuglia
(1990) * "PRAEDIA CLARISSIMORUM ETRURIAE." ''Archeologia Classica''
Vol. 43, TOMO PRIMO: MISCELLANEA ETRUSCA E ITALICA IN ONORE DI MASSIMO PALLOTTINO
(1991) pp. 459–474. *
Atlante dei siti archeologici della Toscana
' (Rome, 1992) *
Etruria
' (Guide archeologiche Laterza, 3) (Rome-Bari, 1993) *
Studies in the Romanization of Italy
' (Edmonton, 1995) *
Il rango, il rito e l'immagine : alle origini della rappresentazione storica romana
' (Milan, 1997) *
Tota Italia : essays in the cultural formation of Roman Italy
' (Oxford, 1999) * (with Francesca Boitani) "Un nuovo santuario dell'Emporion di Gravisca."
''Actes de la rencontre scientifique en hommage à Georges Vallet organisée par le Centre Jean-Bérard, l'École française de Rome, l'Istituto universitario orientale et l'Università degli studi di Napoli "Federico II" (Rome-Naples, 15-18 novembre 1995)'' ''Publications de l'École Française de Rome'' 251 (1999) pp. 93-102
*
The Etruscans
' (Milan, 2001)] *
Le strategie di Kleitias. Composizione e programma figurativo del vaso François
' (Milan, 2007) * (with Anna Maria Sgubini Moretti)
Etruschi : le antiche metropoli del Lazio
' (Milan, 2008) * (with Elisa Marroni) ''CASTRUM INUI. Il santuario di Inuus alla foce del Fosso dell’Incastro'' (Monumenti Antichi, 76 – serie misc. 21). (G. Bretschneider, 2018).; ISSN:0391-8084 * Collected papers:
Opuscola etrusca 2010-2018
' (Edizioni ETS, 2019);
Opuscola romana 2010-2018
' (Edizioni ETS, 2019);
Opuscola Graeca 2010-2018
' (Edizioni ETS, 2019) * estschriftenAngiolillo, Simonetta and Marco Giuman, Marco. ''Il vasaio e le sue storie : giornata di studi sulla ceramica attica in onore di Mario Torelli per i suoi settanta anni, agliari, Cittadella dei Musei, aula verde, 20 giugno 2007' (Cagliari : Edizioni AV, 2007); Elisa Marroni; Concetta Masseria; Mario Torelli.
Dialogando : studi in onore di Mario Torelli
' (Pisa : ETS, 2017
Table of contents

References

Further Information

''Curriculum vitae''Recent worksMario Torelli
International Balzan Prize Foundation

Necrology

* "Addio a Mario Torelli, grande archeologo amico di Pompei" ''La Repubblica'
15 September 2020

''RaiNews'' 15 September 2020

Other projects

* ttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page Wikimedia Commonscontains images or other files abou
Mario Torelli

Wikiquote
contains citation by or abou
Mario Torelli
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torelli, Mario 1937 births 2020 deaths Italian classical scholars Italian archaeologists Academic staff of the University of Perugia Academic staff of the University of Cagliari University of Michigan faculty University of Colorado Boulder faculty Academic staff of the University of Paris University of California, Irvine faculty Linguists of Etruscan 20th-century Italian archaeologists 21st-century archaeologists