Massimo Pallottino

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Massimo Pallottino

Massimo Pallottino (9 November 1909 – 7 February 1995) was an archaeologist specializing in Etruscan

Etruscan civilization

Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to the culture and way of life of a people of ancient Italy and Corsica whom the ancient Romans called Etrusci or Tusci....
civilization and art.

Pallottino was a student of Giulio Quirino Giglioli and worked early in his career on the Temple of Apollo

Apollo

In Greek mythology and Roman mythology, Apollo , is one of the most important and many-sided of the Twelve Olympians. The ideal of the kouros , Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of light and the sun; truth and prophecy; archery; medicine and healing; music, poetry, and the arts; and more....
at Veii

Veii

Veii was, in ancient times, an important Etrurian city 16 km NNW of Rome, Italy; its site lies in the modern comune of Formello, in the Province of Rome....
. In essence Pallottino created the modern discipline of Etruscology and trained many of its leading practitioners. He published a massive corpus of material during his career and established a research center in Rome, today known as C.N.R.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Massimo Pallottino'

Start a new discussion about 'Massimo Pallottino'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

Massimo Pallottino (9 November 1909 – 7 February 1995) was an archaeologist specializing in Etruscan
Etruscan civilization

Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to the culture and way of life of a people of ancient Italy and Corsica whom the ancient Romans called Etrusci or Tusci....
civilization and art.

Pallottino was a student of Giulio Quirino Giglioli and worked early in his career on the Temple of Apollo
Apollo

In Greek mythology and Roman mythology, Apollo , is one of the most important and many-sided of the Twelve Olympians. The ideal of the kouros , Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of light and the sun; truth and prophecy; archery; medicine and healing; music, poetry, and the arts; and more....
at Veii
Veii

Veii was, in ancient times, an important Etrurian city 16 km NNW of Rome, Italy; its site lies in the modern comune of Formello, in the Province of Rome....
. In essence Pallottino created the modern discipline of Etruscology and trained many of its leading practitioners. He published a massive corpus of material during his career and established a research center in Rome, today known as C.N.R. per l'Archeologia etrusco-italica. He was also influential in establishing the Istituto Nazionale di Studi Etruschi e Italici and its journal, Studi Etruschi. His own work covered Etruscan art and culture, civilization, and language. One of his most influential works was the handbook Etruscologia originally published in 1942 in Milan, but today available in numerous languages and still consulted by scholars and students alike. Pallottino was a member of the faculty of the Università di Roma, "La Sapienza".

In 1937, Pallottino wrote an article debunking the so-called "Etruscan Warrior" purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (by John Marshall under the direction of Gisela M. A. Richter, as a forgery
Forgery

Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents , with the intent to deception. The similar crime of fraud is the crime of deceiving another, including through the use of objects obtained through forgery....
. Richter remained unconvinced, but Pallottino was ultimately proven correct by the scholar Harold Parsons in 1961. Pallottino pointed out the Greek Hellenized world that Etruscan art emerged from. He wrote the volume on Etruscan Painting (1952) for Albert Skira's series on Great Centuries of Painting. In 1971 his Civiltà artistica etrusco-italica summarized the previous two generations of work in Italian archaeology.

In 1997 Pallottino's memory and career were honored with the publication of a two-volume set, Etrusca et Italica: Scritti in ricordo di Massimo Pallottino. Among his students was Giovanni Colonna
Giovanni Colonna

Giovanni Colonna is a contemporary Italian scholar of ancient Italy and, in particular, the Etruscan civilization.Colonna is a professor at the Sapienza University of Rome where he has taught since 1980....
, one of the leading figures in current Etruscology.

Bibliography

and Jucker, Hans. Art of the Etruscans. London: Thames and Hudson, 1955
Arte figurativa e ornamentale. Rome: C. Colombo, 1940.
Che cos’è l’archeologia. Florence: Sansoni, 1963 (English ed., The Meaning of Archaeology. New York: H. N. Abrams 1968).
Etruscan Painting. Geneva: Skira, 1952.
Etruscologia. Milan: Hoepli, 1942 (English ed., The Etruscans. David Ridgway, editor. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1975).
L’origine degli Etruschi. Rome: Tumminelli, 1947.
Mostra dell’arte e della civiltà etrusca. Milan: Silvana, 1955.
Civiltà artistica etrusco-italica. Florence: Sansoni, 1971.
A History of Earliest Italy. Michigan, 1991.