Edda Bresciani (23 September 1930 – 29 November 2020) was an Italian

Egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...

Life

Bresciani was born in

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one o ...

, and graduated in 1955 from the

University of Pisa The University of Pisa ( it, Università di Pisa, UniPi), officially founded in 1343, is one of the oldest universities in Europe. History The Origins The University of Pisa was officially founded in 1343, although various scholars place ...

. She excavated at several places in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and is mainly known for her work at several sites in the

Faiyum Faiyum ( ar, الفيوم ' , borrowed from cop, ̀Ⲫⲓⲟⲙ or Ⲫⲓⲱⲙ ' from egy, pꜣ ym "the Sea, Lake") is a city in Middle Egypt. Located southwest of Cairo, in the Faiyum Oasis, it is the capital of the modern Faiyum ...

, most notably the temple of Medinet Maadi. She also found and excavated a Middle Kingdom cemetery at Khelua. In 1974 the University of Pisa appointed Bresciani at the lead of an excavation campaign at Saqqara; here she studied the

26th Dynasty The Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXVI, alternatively 26th Dynasty or Dynasty 26) dynasty was the last native dynasty to rule Egypt before the Persian conquest in 525 BC (although others followed). The dynasty's reign (664–525 ...

tomb of the

vizier A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was a ...

Bakenrenef. In 1978 she founded the still–running ''Egitto e Vicino Oriente'', the Egyptological journal of the University. She also performed excavations at the "Temple of Million Years" of

Thutmose IV Thutmose IV (sometimes read as Thutmosis or Tuthmosis IV, Thothmes in older history works in Latinized Greek; egy, ḏḥwti.msi(.w) "Thoth is born") was the 8th Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt, who ruled in approximately the 14th century ...

at Thebes. A proficient

demotist Demotic (from grc, δημοτικός ''dēmotikós'', 'popular') is the ancient Egyptian script derived from northern forms of hieratic used in the Nile Delta, and the stage of the Egyptian language written in this script, following Late Egypt ...

, Bresciani published many books on her work. She earned a medal for meritorious science and culture in May 1996, and was a fellow of the

Accademia dei Lincei The Accademia dei Lincei (; literally the "Academy of the Lynx-Eyed", but anglicised as the Lincean Academy) is one of the oldest and most prestigious European scientific institutions, located at the Palazzo Corsini on the Via della Lungara in Rom ...

. After her retirement, Bresciani became ''

professor emerita ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

'' at the University of Pisa.

Publications

* Edda Bresciani, Sergio Pernigotti, ASSUAN. ''Il tempio Tolemaico di Isi. I blocchi decorati e iscritti'', Pisa: Giardini, 1978 * ''L'Antico Egitto di Ippolito Rosellini nelle tavole dai monumenti dell'Egitto e della Nubia'', Ed. Istituto geografico de Agostini, * ''Grande Enciclopedia illustrata dell'Antico Egitto'' (ed. E. Bresciani), Ed. De Agostini 1998, 2005, * ''Il Volto Di Osiri: Tele Funerarie Dipinte nell'Egitto Romano'', Ed. Maria Pacini Fazzi, * ''Khelua: Una Necropoli Del Medio Regno Nel Fayum'', ETS, * ''Nozioni elementari di grammatica demotica'', Ed. Cisalpino-Goliardica, * ''Sulle Rive Del Nilo: L'Egitto Al Tempo Dei Faraoni'', GLF editori Laterza, * ''Food and drink. Life resources in ancient Egypt'', Pacini: Fazzi, 1997 * ''Letteratura e poesia dell'antico Egitto. Cultura e società attraverso i testi'', Einaudi Tascabili, 2007, * ''I testi religiosi dell'antico Egitto'', Mondadori, collana I Meridiani, 2001 * ''La piramide e la Torre. Duecento anni di archeologia egiziana'' (ed. E. Bresciani), Pisa, 2000 * ''Nine Pharaohs'', Plus Pisa 2002 (''Nove Faraoni'', Plus: Pisa, 2001) * ''Kom Madi 1977 e 1978. Le pitture murali del cenotafio di Alessandro Magno'', Prima ristampa con aggiornamenti. With English text, Pisa, 2003 * ''Egypt in India. Egyptian Collection in Indian Museums'' (eds. E. Bresciani, M. Betrò), Pisa: Plus, 2004, * Edda Bresciani, Mario Del Tacca, ''Arte medica e cosmetica alla corte dei Faraoni/Medicine and cosmetics at Pharaohs' court'', Pisa, 2005, Pacini, * ''La porta dei sogni. Interpreti e sognatori nell'Egitto antico'', Einaudi Saggi, 2005, * ''Medinet Madi. Venti anni di esplorazione archeologica (1984-2005)'' (eds. Edda Bresciani, Antonio Giammarusti, Rosario Pintaudi, Flora Silvano) Pisa, 2006 * ''Ramesse II'', Firenze: Giunti Editore, 2012,

References

Italian Egyptologists Italian women archaeologists 1930 births 2020 deaths Writers from Lucca Academic staff of the University of Pisa University of Pisa alumni 20th-century Italian non-fiction writers 20th-century Italian women writers 20th-century archaeologists 21st-century Italian non-fiction writers 21st-century Italian women writers 21st-century archaeologists Italian women non-fiction writers Members of the Lincean Academy {{Italy-academic-bio-stub