Evaristo Breccia

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Breccia 1909

Annibale Evaristo Breccia (18 July 1876, Offagna - 28 July 1967, Rome) was an Italian egyptologist, the second director of the Greco-Roman Museum of Alexandria and rector of the University of Pisa. [1] [2]

Contents

Early life and studies

He was born in Offagna to Cesare Breccia and Angela Gatti. He graduated in 1900 from the University of Rome with a degree on ancient history. [3]

Career

Evaristo Breccia with some finds at the conclusion of the excavations at Giza in Egypt, which he opened in 1903. Museo Egizio Photographic archive, Turin. Giza, Evaristo Breccia at the end of the excavation 1903, photo 1 of 1 - Archivio fotografico Museo Egizio, Turin D00092.jpg
Evaristo Breccia with some finds at the conclusion of the excavations at Giza in Egypt, which he opened in 1903. Museo Egizio Photographic archive, Turin.
Evaristo Breccia (center) directing excavation work on the mastaba tomb G 7391 of the dignitary Iteti, 1903; in the background is the Pyramid of Cheops, along with two of the satellite pyramids. In this shot, the excavation has not yet uncovered the mastaba's facade. Schiaparelli's excavations - Giza, Eastern necropolis, Mastaba G 7391 of Iteti, 1903, photo 15 of 17 - Archivio fotografico Museo Egizio, Turin INV87 030.jpg
Evaristo Breccia (center) directing excavation work on the mastaba tomb G 7391 of the dignitary Iteti, 1903; in the background is the Pyramid of Cheops, along with two of the satellite pyramids. In this shot, the excavation has not yet uncovered the mastaba's façade.

Breccia founded in 1893, together with other scholars, the Archaeological Society of Alexandria. From 1 April 1904 to 29 October 1932 he was the director of the Greco-Roman Museum of Alexandria where he succeeded Giuseppe Botti. [4] [5] [3] He was a member of the Accademia dei Lincei.

In 1903 he excavated in Hermopolis Magna under Ernesto Schiaparelli. [3] Additionally, he conducted excavations in a number of sites including Alexandria, Giza, Hermopolis, Fayum, Middle Egypt, Oxyrhynchus, El Hiba, Antinoe and Cyrene. He excavated until 1937 when a serious illness forced him to give up his excavations, that were continued by Sergio Donadoni. [6] In 1933 he was appointed professor of Greek and Roman history at the University of Pisa and between 29 October 1939 and 28 October 1941 he was the rector of the University. [3]

He is well known for his guides of Alexandria and the Greco-Roman Museum. [3]

Personal life

In 28 July 1967 Breccia died by suicide in Rome. [7] After his death his wife, Paolina Salluzzi, donated his archive to the University of Pisa. The archive includes his correspondence, his manuscripts such as notes, publication projects, excavation reports and photographs, drawings of monuments and finds, and photographic plates. [8]

Publications

References

  1. Calderini, Aristide (1966). "A. EVARISTO BRECCIA (18 luglio 1876 - 28 luglio 1967)". Aegyptus. 46 (3/4): 293–296. ISSN   0001-9046. JSTOR   41216116.
  2. "EVARISTO BRECCIA UN UOMO, UNA STORIA di Pier Roberto Del Francia". lamemoriadeiluoghi.regione.marche.it. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "BRECCIA, Evaristo in "Dizionario Biografico"". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  4. Reid, Donald M. (1996). "Cromer and the Classics: Imperialism, Nationalism and the Greco-Roman Past in Modern Egypt" . Middle Eastern Studies. 32 (1): 1–29. doi:10.1080/00263209608701089. ISSN   0026-3206. JSTOR   4283773.
  5. Stevenson, Alice (2019), "International, Colonial and Transnational Connections (1880–1950)" , Scattered Finds, Archaeology, Egyptology and Museums, UCL Press, pp. 105–144, doi:10.2307/j.ctv550cxt.7, ISBN   978-1-78735-141-7, JSTOR   j.ctv550cxt.7 , retrieved 2023-01-21
  6. "L'Archivio Breccia".
  7. "Prof. Evaristo Breccia, 91, Italian Egyptologist, Is Dead". The New York Times. 1967-07-29. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  8. "SIUSA | Toscana - Breccia Evaristo". siusa.archivi.beniculturali.it. Retrieved 2023-01-21.