Amedeo Maiuri (January 7, 1886 – April 7, 1963) was an Italian archaeologist, famous for his archaeological investigations of the

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 ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

city of

Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...

which was destroyed in the eruption of

Mount Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of s ...

in August of AD 79. He was the first to conduct systematic scientific excavations, analysis and publication at Pompeii and other sites around Vesuvius.A. Maiuri, “Studi e ricerche sulle fortificazioni di Pompei.” Monumenti Antichi 33 (1929): 113–290 Born at

Veroli Veroli ( la, Verulae) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, Lazio, central Italy, in the Latin Valley. History Veroli (''Verulae'') became a Roman municipium in 90 BC. It became the seat of a bishopric in 743 AD, and was occupied ...

, Italy, from 1914 until 1924 the young Maiuri directed the Italian archaeological mission in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, with a focus on

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...

and the construction of a new museum there. In 1924, Maiuri was installed as the chief archaeologist of

, serving as director until 1961. Maiuri's work at Pompeii was revolutionary and he exposed many remains, and proposed chronologies, that are still at the focus of scholarly discussion. Maiuri's work included, for the first time, excavations below the Roman destruction level of 79 AD when he chose to excavate one of the most famous houses of Pompeii, the House of the surgeon to investigate the earlier history of the city. Maiuri excavated other cities destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius, such as

Herculaneum Herculaneum (; Neapolitan and it, Ercolano) was an ancient town, located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Like the nea ...

. He discovered the Cave of the

Cumaean Sibyl The Cumaean Sibyl was the priestess presiding over the Apollonian oracle at Cumae, a Greek colony located near Naples, Italy. The word ''sibyl'' comes (via Latin) from the ancient Greek word ''sibylla'', meaning prophetess. There were many sibyls ...

in May 1932. The Cave is a

trapezoidal A quadrilateral with at least one pair of parallel sides is called a trapezoid () in American and Canadian English. In British and other forms of English, it is called a trapezium (). A trapezoid is necessarily a convex quadrilateral in Eucli ...

dromos Dromos may refer to: * ''Cursus publicus'', the public road system of the Roman and Byzantine empires * Dromos, in architecture, an entrance passage or avenue leading to a building * Dromoi Dromoi (Greek: δρόμοι "ways"; singular: δρόμο ...

or passage over 131 meters long running parallel to the side of the hill and cut out of the volcanic stone. In 1936 he became first president of the Italian Numismatic Institute after it was transformed from a private to a public association. The few remains of the

Tiberian Tiberian may refer to: * Tiberian vocalization, an oral tradition within the Hebrew language * Tiberian Hebrew, the variety of Hebrew based on Tiberian vocalization * Tiberias, a city in Lower Galilee, Israel * Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesa ...

villa Damecuta A villa is a type of house that was originally an Ancient Rome, ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, vi ...

are the result of excavations done between 1937–48 by Maiuri (who also excavated

Villa Jovis Villa Jovis ("Villa of Jupiter") is a Roman palace on Capri, southern Italy, built by emperor Tiberius and completed in AD 27. Tiberius ruled mainly from there until his death in AD 37. Villa Jovis is the largest of the twelve Tiberian villas o ...

), on land donated to the Italian Government by

Axel Munthe Axel Martin Fredrik Munthe (31 October 1857 – 11 February 1949) was a Swedish-born medical doctor and psychiatrist, best known as the author of ''The Story of San Michele'', an autobiographical account of his life and work. He spoke several la ...

, celebrated author of ''The Story of San Michele''. His book, ''L'anfiteatro flavio puteolano'' (1955), is considered to be the definitive

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

on the subject of the

Flavian Amphitheatre The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world to ...

Pozzuoli Pozzuoli (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Naples, in the Italian region of Campania. It is the main city of the Phlegrean Peninsula. History Pozzuoli began as the Greek colony of ''Dicaearchia'' ( el, Δικα� ...

. The model of the

torch A torch is a stick with combustible material at one end, which is ignited and used as a light source. Torches have been used throughout history, and are still used in processions, symbolic and religious events, and in juggling entertainment. In ...

used in the 1960

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

was inspired by Professor Maiuri from torches reproduced on ancient monuments. Maiuri died in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

in 1963.

References

Bibliography

* Maiuri, Amedeo. ''L'anfiteatro flavio puteolano''.

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

: G. Macchiaroli, 1955. * A. Maiuri, “Pompei. Sterro dei cumuli e isolamento della cinta murale. Contributo all’urbanistica della città dissepolta.” In Bollettino d’Arte 45 (1960): 172, L. García y García Danni di guerra a Pompei, 167. {{DEFAULTSORT:Maiuri, Amedeo 1886 births 1963 deaths People from Frosinone People from Veroli Italian archaeologists 20th-century archaeologists