Dario del Bufalo

Dario del Bufalo
Born	(1958-01-30) January 30, 1958 (age 67) Rome, Italy
Occupation	Architect antiquity expert architect restorer.
Language	Italian

Dario del Bufalo (Rome, 30 January 1958) is an Italian mosaic and antiquity expert, architect, author, and restorer.

Education

Del Bufalo graduated with Laude in 1987 with a PhD in Architecture from Sapienza University in Rome.

Career

From 1998 to 2007 he taught a course on the "History of architectural techniques and ancient materials" at the University of Lecce. He was President of the Università dei Marmorari  [ it ] in Rome on the occasion of the sixth centenary of its foundation (2006). ^[1]

Del Bufalo is author of many books and titles about Roman art and architecture, old coloured marbles and sculpture.

He is the author or co-author of numerous other volumes, including the museum catalogue for the 2021-2022 exhibition Il falso nell'arte. Alceo Dossena e la scultura italiana del Rinascimento (The false in art. Alceo Dossena and Italian Renaissance sculpture) at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto. He has written on the subject for The Art Newspaper . ^[2]

Del Bufalo is also noted for having restored the Castello della Cecchignola  [ it ] in Rome. ^{[3] [4]}

Caligula mosaic

Del Bufalo gained widespread coverage when he rediscovered an antiquity featured in his book, a marble mosaic that had been part of the flooring on one of the Roman Emperor Caligula's pleasure boats, the Nemi ships which were more like floating buildings than boats and never meant to sail. ^{[5] [6]} Following Caligula's assassination in AD 41 the boats were sunk on the orders of the Roman Senate and the Praetorian guard.

Lake Nemi (30 km (19 mi) south of Rome) was drained by Benito Mussolini in the 1920s and the ships became visible again. A museum was founded and built above the vessels. The museum and the ships were destroyed by fire during World War II. This particular piece which survived went missing in the 1960s. It fell into private hands and was eventually sold by an aristocratic Italian family to New York City antiques dealer Helen Fioratti and her husband Nereo. ^[7] The piece, which served as the top of a coffee table in the Fioratti's apartment was seized by the New York County District Attorney's Office and then repatriated to Italy. ^[8]

Bibliography

• Precious Portraits, Allemandi Editore, Torino 2020. ^[9]
• Porphyry. Red Imperial Porphyry Power and Religion, 2a edizione, Allemandi Editore, Torino 2018. ^[10]
• Murrina Vasa. A luxury of Imperial Rome, L’Erma di Bretschneider, Roma 2016. ^[11]
• Porphyry. Red Imperial Porphyry Power and Religion, Allemandi Editore, Torino 2012. ^[12]
• Marmorari Magistri Romani, L’Erma di Bretschneider, Roma 2010. ^[13]
• L'Università dei Marmorari di Roma, L’Erma di Bretschneider, Roma 2007. ^[14]
• Marbres de couleur. Pierres et architecture de l’Antiquité au XVIII siècle, Actes Sud, Paris 2004. ^[15]
• Marmi Colorati: Le Pietre e L'Architettura dall'Antico al Barocco, Motta Editore, Milano 2003. ^[16]
• Marmi antichi e Pietre dure, Congedo Editore, Galatina in 2000. ^[17]

Family life

His daughter is the actress and singer Diana Del Bufalo (b. 1990). ^[18]

References

1. "Dario Del Bufalo". Università dei Marmorari. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
2. "Dario del Bufalo". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
3. "Castello della Cecchignola". 27 October 2020.
4. "Home". castellodellacecchignola.it.
5. Magazine, Smithsonian; Kindy, David. "A Mosaic From Caligula's 'Pleasure Boat' Spent 45 Years as a Coffee Table in NYC". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
6. "Roman Emperor Caligula's coffee table". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
7. "2,000-year-old Roman artifact used as coffee table for 50 years". New York Post. 2021-11-22. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
8. Desk, ZACHARY ROGERS | The National (2021-11-22). "'Caligula's coffee table', 2,000-year-old artifact found in NYC apartment". WCIV. Retrieved 2022-02-10.{{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
9. Del Bufalo, Dario (2020). Precious portraits : small precious stone sculptures of Imperial Rome. [Turin]. ISBN   978-88-422-2427-3. OCLC   1181937244.
10. Del Bufalo, Dario (2018). Porphyry : red imperial porphyry : power and religion. Francesca Licordari, Arianna Pujia (2nd edition revised and expanded ed.). Torino: Umberto Allemandi. ISBN   978-88-422-2428-0. OCLC   1037778035.
11. Del Bufalo, Dario (2016). Murrina vasa : a luxury of imperial Rome. Raniero Gnoli (English edition including Italian texts ed.). Roma. ISBN   978-88-913-0997-6. OCLC   960468269.
12. Del Bufalo, Dario (2012). Porphyry : red imperial porphyry : power and religion. Torino: U. Allemandi & C. ISBN   978-88-422-2146-3. OCLC   848744653.
13. Del Bufalo, Dario (2010). Marmorari magistri romani. Roma: "L'Erma" di Bretschneider. ISBN   978-88-8265-582-2. OCLC   671183051.
14. Del Bufalo, Dario (2007). L'Università dei marmorari di Roma. Italy. Ministero per i beni e le attività culturali. Roma: L'Erma di Bretschneider. ISBN   978-88-8265-450-4. OCLC   213458161.
15. Del Bufalo, Dario (2004). Marbres de couleur : pierres et architecture de l'Antiquité au XVIIIe siècle. Chantal, ... Moiroud. Arles: Actes Sud. ISBN   2-7427-5145-9. OCLC   419786186.
16. Del Bufalo, Dario (2003). Marmi colorati : le pietre e l'architettura dall'antico al Barocco (1. ed. italiana ed.). Milano: F. Motta. ISBN   88-7179-391-9. OCLC   53878930.
17. Marmi antichi e pietre dure. Dario Del Bufalo, Faustino Corsi. [Galatina]: Mario Congedo Editore. 2000. ISBN   88-8086-316-9. OCLC   44642750.
18. Signorini, Mario (2021-02-25). "Diana Del Bufalo curiosità: chi sono i (famosi) genitori e che lavoro fanno". Solonotizie24 (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-02-10.