Archaeology and Cultural Heritage

Farewell to Professor Attilio Statius: a giant of archeology who believed in young people!

It seems that fate has decided this year to present the bill to archeology. We're here to talk about another one gone, one of Prof. Attilio Statius. This is an insurmountable loss for archeology, for the world of numismatics and for studies of Ancient Greece in particular.

The writer has had the pleasure of knowing him and the honor of being his student. Year 1999, a classroom of the University Suor Orsola Benincasa. After a course of illuminating "Coins of Magna Graecia", was the time of examination, or rather of the checks, because it was a free course, a prelude to the inclusion of the course the following year, the official list of lessons. Well, came the day of the examinations, Professor Statius called me first: the first rebuke came after ten seconds, then came 45 minutes memorable, an open discussion on the numismatic knowledge of science and antiquity, a rare ability to communicate, to which contributed to its lively and humorous Neapolitan. When three years ago, as a supervisor of a teaching different from his, I found myself in the Committee of Science confess that all the time I thought that honor that afternoon I was offering.

And then the Congress of Studies on Ancient Greece, it was one of the fathers, it has over time become a squire in the last year when he was fearing the closure. And thanks to its tough the conference is still there, to allow many students to receive a scholarship, to Inzi of their careers, opens them to the great archeology.

And it is the Congress of Ancient Greece which is part of my happiest memory of Prof. Statius, in 2000 a scholarship was present along with many students at a dinner hosted by the Institute of Ancient Greece to Taranto. In the middle of dinner, jumped completely accademicità and opened the dances. Before the restaurant became a real club, Prof. Statius took her hand his beloved wife and began to dance in the middle of the room with people that were opened to make that sort of miracle to happen. Great emotion, a moment carved.

Do not even try to list here the curriculum of Prof. Statius, I think can be called one of the fathers of Italian archeology, remembering only the fields of which was Prince expression: numismatics and archeology of Ancient Greece.

One last memory is tied to his first lesson, and now it's very relevant. Within a broader discussion, the discussion is extended, and he came to speak of death, of how we try to exorcise it without naming it. We did notice that as you say and always reads: "It is off, failed, etc..", Death is never mentions by name.

He was right, not the nameless, I want to exorcise it, I would like to drive, delete, delete it certainly would like the many students who have had the opportunity to graduate with him, and all those who have had the opportunity to take advantage of a scholarship offered by the his Institute.

I apologize for the length of the post, not suited to the pages of a blog, but transport was inevitable.

Thanks for everything Professor Statius!

JACOB BENEDICT

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Tags: Attilio Statius , Magna Graecia , Numismatics