Francesco Mallegni | |
---|---|
Born | Camaiore | February 14, 1940
Nationality | Italian |
Citizenship | Italy |
Alma mater | University of Pisa |
Spouse | Laura Mattei |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Paleoanthropology |
Academic advisors | Don Raffaello Parenti |
Francesco Mallegni (born 14 February 1940; Camaiore) is an Italian paleoanthropologist, author of forensic facial reconstructions 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 and Siena.
In 2002 Francesco Mallegni conducted DNA testing on the recently excavated bodies of the Ugolino 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 leave Mallegni about 98 percent sure that he has identified the remains correctly. However, the forensic analysis discredits the allegation of cannibalism. 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. [1] [2]
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, particularly the range of chemicals, including arsenic and lead, both commonly found in paint, that the bones had absorbed. [3]
In 2005, Francesco Mallegni along with Giacomo Michelini had studied the corpse of Pope Gregory VII which laid undisturbed since 1975. [4] In 2007, Francesco Mallegni gave Dante'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 Dante'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. [5]
The Sienese School of painting flourished in Siena, Italy, between the 13th and 15th centuries. Its most important artists include Duccio, whose work shows Byzantine influence, his pupil Simone Martini, the brothers Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti and Domenico and Taddeo di Bartolo, Sassetta, and Matteo di Giovanni.
Ugolino della Gherardesca, Count of Donoratico, was an Italian nobleman, politician and naval commander. He was frequently accused of treason and features prominently in Dante's Divine Comedy.
Francesco de Sanctis was a leading Italian literary critic and scholar of Italian language and literature during the 19th century.
The Altamura Man is a fossil of the genus Homo discovered in 1993 in a karst sinkhole in the Lamalunga Cave near the city of Altamura, Italy. Remarkably well preserved but covered in a thick layer of calcite taking the shape of cave popcorn the find was left in situ in order to avoid damage. Research during the following twenty years was based mainly on the documented on-site observations. Consequently, experts remained reluctant to agree on a conclusive age nor was there consensus on the species it belonged to.
Forensic facial reconstruction is the process of recreating the face of an individual from their skeletal remains through an amalgamation of artistry, anthropology, osteology, and anatomy. It is easily the most subjective—as well as one of the most controversial—techniques in the field of forensic anthropology. Despite this controversy, facial reconstruction has proved successful frequently enough that research and methodological developments continue to be advanced.
The Archdiocese of Pisa is a Latin Church metropolitan see of the Catholic Church in Pisa, Italy. It was founded in the 4th century and elevated to the dignity of an archdiocese on 21 April 1092 by Pope Urban II. The seat of the bishop is the cathedral of the Assumption in the Piazza del Duomo.
Francesco Acri was an Italian philosopher and historian of philosophy.
Girolamo Graziani was an Italian poet and diplomat.
Angelo tra la folla is a 1950 Italian film directed by Leonardo de Mitri.
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Osvaldo Valenti was an Italian film actor. Valenti starred in several successful Italian movies of the late 1930s and early 1940s, such as the famous The Iron Crown and The Jester's Supper. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1928 and 1945. He and his lover, Luisa Ferida, were executed by partisans in Milan, Italy, due to their links with Fascism. Their story was portrayed in the 2008 film Wild Blood.
Cesare Segre was an Italian philologist, semiotician and literary critic of Jewish descent, and the Director of the Texts and Textual Traditions Research Centre of the Institute for Advanced Studies of Pavia (IUSS).
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The University History Museum of the University of Pavia is a museum displaying memorabilia related to the history of the university, particularly in the fields of physics and medicine, when students were taught by prominent scholars such as Antonio Scarpa and Camillo Golgi or the physicist Alessandro Volta.
Fulvio Testi was an Italian diplomat and poet who is recognised as one of the main exponents of 17th-century Italian Baroque literature. He worked in the service of the d'Este dukes in Modena, for whom he held high office, such as the governorship of Garfagnana. His poems tackle civic themes in solemn tones, showing Testi's lasting anti-Spanish and, consequently, pro-Savoia political passions. Accused of treason for having tried to set up diplomatic relations with the French court, he was imprisoned and died in jail soon after. One later literary critic wrote:
If he'd been born in a less barbarous age, and had had more time than he did to cultivate his talent, he would doubtless have been our Horace, and perhaps been hotter and more vehement and more sublime than the Latin man
Carlo Troya was a historian and politician who served as Prime Minister of the Two Sicilies from 3 April 1848 until 15 May 1848. Politically, he was a liberal Neo-Guelph who supported Italian unification. His primary historical interest was the study of the Early Middle Ages, to which he made lasting contributions.
Castello di Reschio forms part of a chain of walled settlements in proximity of the Tuscan boundaries. It belonged to the county of Porta Sant’Angelo of the commune of Perugia, perched on a hillock above the valley of Pierle, along the right riverbank of the Niccone stream. Today it is part of the communal territory of Lisciano Niccone, province of Perugia.
Giovanni Cola di Franco was an Italian Mannerist architect active between 1596 and 1621, mainly in Naples, where he was born and died. He collaborated with contemporary architects such as Francesco Grimaldi, Bartolomeo Picchiatti and Giovan Giacomo Di Conforto.
Enrico Comba was an Italian historian and anthropologist, teacher of anthropology of religion at the University of Turin.