Francesco Mallegni (born 14 February 1940;

Camaiore Camaiore is a city and ''comune'' of 32,513 inhabitants within the province of Lucca, Tuscany, central-western Italy. It stretches from the Apuan Alps to the east, to the plains and the coast of Versilia to the west. History Camaiore has Roman ori ...

) is an Italian

paleoanthropologist Paleoanthropology or paleo-anthropology is a branch of paleontology and anthropology which seeks to understand the early development of anatomically modern humans, a process known as hominization, through the reconstruction of evolutionary kinship ...

, author of

forensic facial reconstruction Forensic facial reconstruction (or forensic facial approximation) is the process of recreating the face of an individual (whose identity is often not known) from their skeletal remains through an amalgamation of artistry, anthropology, osteol ...

s of several Italian Medieval persons. Mallegni was an assistant in 1973, promoted to associate in 1980, and since 2002 works as professor of paleoanthropology at the Department of Archaeological Sciences in

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

and

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

Research

In 2002 Francesco Mallegni conducted DNA testing on the recently excavated bodies of the

Ugolino Ugolino is an Italian masculine given name that is a diminutive form of Ugo. It may also refer to: Artists and musicians * Ugolino di Nerio (1280?–1349), Italian painter active in Siena and Florence * Ugolino di Tedice (died after 1277), Italian ...

and his children. His analysis agrees with the remains being a father, his sons and his grandsons. Additional comparison to DNA from modern day members of the

Della Gherardesca family The House della Gherardesca was an old noble family of the Republic of Pisa, dating back as early as the 11th century of Longobard origin. They were an important one of the most prominent initially in Pisa, then of Volterra and eventually and of ...

leave Mallegni about 98 percent sure that he has identified the remains correctly. However, the

forensic analysis Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal p ...

discredits the allegation of

cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...

. Analysis of the rib bones of the Ugolino skeleton reveals traces of magnesium, but no zinc, implying he had consumed no meat in the months before his death. Ugolino also had few remaining teeth and is believed to have been in his 70s when he was imprisoned, making it further unlikely that he could have outlived and eaten his descendants in captivity. Additionally, Mallegni notes that the putative Ugolino skull was damaged; perhaps he did not ultimately die of starvation, although malnourishment is evident. During an excavation in the 1970s bones were discovered beneath the paving of Santa Reparata at a spot close to the location given by Vasari, but unmarked on either level. Forensic examination of the bones by Francesco Mallegni and a team of experts in 2000 brought to light some facts that seemed to confirm that they were those of an Italian painter

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/Proto-Renaissance period. Giot ...

, particularly the range of chemicals, including

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, but ...

and

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

, both commonly found in paint, that the bones had absorbed. In 2005, Francesco Mallegni along with Giacomo Michelini had studied the corpse of

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII ( la, Gregorius VII; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana ( it, Ildebrando di Soana), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint ...

which laid undisturbed since 1975. In 2007, Francesco Mallegni gave

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

's image a new 3D look. The new face shows softer traits: large eyes, a rounded jaw and a gentler expression, although the nose remains crooked. The multidisciplinary project to reconstruct

's face lasted about two months, using a plaster model of the skull and 3D computer technology and other techniques to simulate muscles and skin. *''Mona Lisa''Remains of the supposed “Mona Lisa” being exhumed in Florence
/ref> *''Saint Homobonus'' *''Andrea Mantegna'' *''Vespasiano Gonzaga'' *''Luigi Boccherini''

Books

*I neandertalini. Comparsa e scomparsa di una specie by David Caramelli, Francesco Mallegni Brunetto Chiarelli (Jan 1, 2009) *Memorie dal sottosuolo e dintorni. Metodologie per un «recupero e trattamenti adeguati» dei resti umani erratici e da sepolture by Francesco Mallegni (Jan 1, 2005) *Il conte Ugolino di Donoratico tra antropologia e storia by M. Luisa Ceccarelli Lemut Francesco Mallegni (Jan 1, 2003)

Links

unipi.academia.edu

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mallegni, Francesco 21st-century Italian scientists Italian paleontologists University of Pisa alumni Living people Paleoanthropologists 1940 births People from the Province of Lucca