Gino Vinicio Gentili
Encyclopedia
Gino Vinicio Gentili was an Italian
archaeologist.
. He earned a Doctorate in Archaeology and in History of Greek
and Roman arts, first at the University of Catania
and later at the University of Bologna
, where he taught Etruscology
and ancient Italy's art.
In 1945 he was elected mayor of Osimo. He was also an official in the administration of the Antiquities and Fine Arts of the Ministry of Education and Chief Inspector and Superintendent of Antiquities for Eastern Sicily (1946 to 1963) and for Emilia-Romagna
.
In 1973 he was awarded the Gold Medal of Civic Merit by the municipality of Osimo "for having paid tribute to the city with the brightest fame acquired in the field of archaeology, and especially for his valuable and irreplaceable contribution to the knowledge of the past in Osimo".
In 1979 he retired from his official position, and continued his work in research.
near Piazza Armerina
. Informally called "the bikini girls", the maidens appear in a mosaic artwork which scholars named "Coronation of the Winner". The young women perform sports including weight-lifting, discus throwing, running and ball-games. A woman in a rich dress is depicted with a crown in her hand; one of the maidens holds a palm frond. The Villa in 1997 became a UNESCO World Heritage Site
.
Explorations and archaeological research conducted by Gentili include:
Gino Vinicio Gentili is the author of essays about his researches at Piazza Armerina, Verucchio, Osimo.
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
archaeologist.
Biography
He earned his degree in Fine Arts and Letters at the University of Rome La Sapienza and graduated in Archaeology at the Italian School of Archaeology in RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. He earned a Doctorate in Archaeology and in History of Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Roman arts, first at the University of Catania
University of Catania
The University of Catania is a university located in Catania, Italy, and founded in 1434. It is the oldest university in Sicily, the 13th oldest in Italy and the 29th oldest university in the world...
and later at the University of Bologna
University of Bologna
The Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating university in the world, the word 'universitas' being first used by this institution at its foundation. The true date of its founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088...
, where he taught Etruscology
Etruscology
Etruscology is the study of the ancient Italian civilization of the Etruscans, which was incorporated into an expanding Roman Empire during the period of Rome's Middle Republic...
and ancient Italy's art.
In 1945 he was elected mayor of Osimo. He was also an official in the administration of the Antiquities and Fine Arts of the Ministry of Education and Chief Inspector and Superintendent of Antiquities for Eastern Sicily (1946 to 1963) and for Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna
Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....
.
In 1973 he was awarded the Gold Medal of Civic Merit by the municipality of Osimo "for having paid tribute to the city with the brightest fame acquired in the field of archaeology, and especially for his valuable and irreplaceable contribution to the knowledge of the past in Osimo".
In 1979 he retired from his official position, and continued his work in research.
Major works and researches
In 1959-60, Gino Vinicio Gentili excavated a mosaic on the floor of the room, later dubbed the "Chamber of the Ten Maidens", at the Villa Romana del CasaleVilla Romana del Casale
Villa Romana del Casale is a Roman villa built in the first quarter of the 4th century and located about 5 km outside the town of Piazza Armerina, Sicily, southern Italy...
near Piazza Armerina
Piazza Armerina
Piazza Armerina is an Italian comune in the province of Enna of the autonomous island region of Sicily.-History:...
. Informally called "the bikini girls", the maidens appear in a mosaic artwork which scholars named "Coronation of the Winner". The young women perform sports including weight-lifting, discus throwing, running and ball-games. A woman in a rich dress is depicted with a crown in her hand; one of the maidens holds a palm frond. The Villa in 1997 became a UNESCO World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
.
- Identification of the great Ionic temple of Syracuse
- Researches in the Roman amphitheatreAmphitheatreAn amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
in Syracuse - Discovery of a small ByzantineByzantineByzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
basilicaBasilicaThe Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
at Santa Croce CamerinaSanta Croce CamerinaSanta Croce Camerina is a town and comune in the province of Ragusa, Sicilia, Italy.... - Exploration of archaic funerary monuments in Syracuse and recovery of the great statue of a "Mother" Kourotrophos in the site of Megara HyblaeaMegara HyblaeaMegara Hyblaea – perhaps identical with Hybla Major – is the name of an ancient Greek colony in Sicily, situated near Augusta on the east coast, north-northwest of Syracuse, Italy, on the deep bay formed by the Xiphonian promontory...
at Augusta - Identification near MineoMineoMineo is a town and comune in the Province of Catania, part of the Sicily region in southern Italy. It lies 64 km southwest of Catania, 56 km from Ragusa, 54 km from Gela, and 22 km from Caltagirone. There are approximately 5600 citizens living there.It serves as the center...
of the ancient SicilianSicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
center of Palikè - Early excavations at NaxosNaxos-Places:*Naxos , an island in the Cyclades group**Naxos , a town and former municipality on the island of Naxos**Naxos , a Greek government division created from the former Cyclades Prefecture in 2011...
, the first Greek colony in Sicily, near Messina - Discovery of a Roman villa of the early Roman EmpireRoman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
in San Biagio di CastrorealeCastrorealeCastroreale is a village in the Province of Messina of Sicily, southern Italy.It has around 2,702 inhabitants but over 80 churches, and is architecturally interesting, with some houses dating to the 13th century...
Bagni - Researches in the EtruscanEtruscan civilizationEtruscan civilization is the modern English name given to a civilization of ancient Italy in the area corresponding roughly to Tuscany. The ancient Romans called its creators the Tusci or Etrusci...
town of MarzabottoMarzabottoMarzabotto is a small town and comune in Italian region Emilia-Romagna, part of the province of Bologna. It is located 27 km SSW of Bologna by rail, and lies in the valley of the Reno... - Identification of the Etruscan town SpinaSpinaSpina was an Etruscan port city, established by the end of the 6th c. BCE, on the Adriatic at the ancient mouth of the Po, south of the lagoon which would become the site of Venice...
in the province of FerraraFerraraFerrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north... - Discovery of valuable Roman mosaics in FaenzaFaenzaFaenza is an Italian city and comune, in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated 50 km southeast of Bologna.Faenza is noted for its manufacture of majolica ware glazed earthenware pottery, known from the name of the town as "faience"....
, SarsinaSarsinaSarsina is an Italian town situated in the province of Forlì-Cesena, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. Its territory is included in the Tuscan-Romagnolo Apennines.-History:...
and RiminiRiminiRimini is a medium-sized city of 142,579 inhabitants in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It is located on the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia and Ausa...
and of remains of Byzantine basilicas in RavennaRavennaRavenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
. - A series of excavations of prehistoric culture in VerucchioVerucchioVerucchio is a comune in the province of Rimini, region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It has a population of c. 9,300 and is located at 18 km from Rimini, on a spur overlooking the valley of the Marecchia river.-History:...
, recovering burial objects of Villanovan cultureVillanovan cultureThe Villanovan culture was the earliest Iron Age culture of central and northern Italy, abruptly following the Bronze Age Terramare culture and giving way in the 7th century BC to an increasingly orientalizing culture influenced by Greek traders, which was followed without a severe break by the...
(8th-7th century B.C.) and others from the SabelliansSabelliansSabellians is a collective ethnonym for a group of Italic peoples or tribes inhabiting central and southern Italy at the time of the rise of Rome. The name was first applied by Niebuhr and encompassed the Sabines, Marsi, Marrucini and Vestini. Pliny in one passage says the Samnites were also...
(5th-4th century circa B.C.). He brought to light an exceptionally well-preserved artifact, the "throne" with scenes relating to the processing of wool, along with finely carved wooden items, now in the Museo Civico Archeologico di BolognaBolognaBologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
.
Gino Vinicio Gentili is the author of essays about his researches at Piazza Armerina, Verucchio, Osimo.
External links
- Villa Romana of Casale.(Italian)
- Some photos of Villa Romana del Casale
- Villa romana del Casale: the "bikini girls"
- The "Mother" found in Megara Hyblaea
- The wooden "throne" found in Verucchio
- An article about the death of Gino Vinicio Gentili ("Giornale di Sicilia",4 August 2006)
- An article from "La Repubblica di Palermo", 8 August 2006
- Regione Marche: remembering Gino Vinicio Gentili
- Comune di Osimo: offering a book in memory of Gino Vinicio Gentili
- Municipality of Piazza Armerina instituting a prize in memory of Gino Vinicio Gentili
- http://www.archeobo.arti.beniculturali.it/Verucchio/index.htmArcheological Museum of VerucchioVerucchioVerucchio is a comune in the province of Rimini, region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It has a population of c. 9,300 and is located at 18 km from Rimini, on a spur overlooking the valley of the Marecchia river.-History:...
.] - http://www.comune.sarsina.fo.it/museoarch/guida.htmArcheological Museum of SarsinaSarsinaSarsina is an Italian town situated in the province of Forlì-Cesena, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. Its territory is included in the Tuscan-Romagnolo Apennines.-History:...
.] - Archeological Museum of Marzabotto.
