L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 10 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2015 L'Italo-Americano I n the last issue of L'Italo- Americano we featured the planned Center for the Study o f A n c i e n t I t a l y a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a B e r k e l e y . T h i s i n n o v a t i v e C e n t e r w i l l e m b r a c e a n interdisciplinary approach to teaching and research, and will promote the study of the many cultures of ancient Italy, with s p e c i a l e m p h a s i s o n t h e Etruscans and Romans. There is no other center quite like this in the United States. In this issue we will look more closely at s o m e o f t h e p e o p l e w h o a r e responsible for this remarkable undertaking. There are two individuals of k e y i m p o r t a n c e — L i s a Pieraccini, the Center's Project Director, and the Center's first benefactor, Professor Mario A. Del Chiaro. Del Chiaro is a UC B e r k e l e y a l u m n u s , h a v i n g c o m p l e t e d h i s B A , M A a n d Ph.D. at Berkeley in the 1950s. H e i s P r o f e s s o r E m e r i t u s o f Greek, Roman, and Etruscan A r t a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f California, Santa Barbara where he taught for over 35 years, but he is a proud San Franciscan at heart (see below). Del Chiaro's dedication to UC Berkeley and to the Etruscans found common ground in this newly planned center. Del Chiaro set up a Fund a t U C B e r k e l e y i n 2 0 1 1 – i n order to support classes on the E t r u s c a n s a n d t o b r i n g d i s t i n g u i s h e d s c h o l a r s i n Etruscan art and archaeology to Berkeley to deliver the annual "Del Chiaro Lecture". Del Chiaro's story began in California, where he still lives t o d a y . H e w a s b o r n i n S a n Francisco on April 22, 1925 to Italian immigrant parents from L u c c a i n T u s c a n y . M a r i o served in the Air Force during W W I I a n d u p o n h i s r e t u r n attended the California School of Fine Arts, where he worked as a sculptor's assistant for a retired priest who was an artist and art collector. Del Chiaro enrolled at UC Berkeley as a result of the G.I. bill in 1949. Del Chiaro's Ph.D. in 1956 was o n a n E t r u s c a n t o p i c , t h e " G e n u c i l i a G r o u p " a n d w a s only the second Ph.D. produced i n B e r k e l e y ' s A r t H i s t o r y Department. On graduation, he accepted a teaching position at the University of California, G o l e t a , a n d t h a t w a s t h e beginning of the Art History D e p a r t m e n t a t U C S a n t a B a r b a r a . D e l C h i a r o participated in excavations all o v e r t h e M e d i t e r r a n e a n , i n c l u d i n g S i c i l y , T u r k e y , Y u g o s l a v i a , a n d t h e R o m a n F o r u m – n o t t o m e n t i o n Tuscany. Years of rewarding w o r k i n t h e f i e l d p r o d u c e d n u m e r o u s a r t i c l e s a n d a n a m a z i n g a c c u m u l a t i o n o f knowledge. Over the course of his career Del Chiaro published well over 100 scholarly articles, four books, three monographs and five exhibition catalogues dedicated to Etruscan as well as Greek and Roman studies. He has just been knighted by the Republic of Italy for the second t i m e ! K n i g h t h o o d s t h a t recognize his contribution in furthering the knowledge of ancient Italy. Pieraccini, also born in San F r a n c i s c o , w a s f o r t u n a t e enough to be Del Chiaro's last Ph.D. student at the University of California, Santa Barbara where she studied Etruscan art a n d a r c h a e o l o g y u n d e r h i s supervision. After completing her Ph.D she lived in Rome for many years where she taught and conducted research at the Etruscan site of Cerveteri. She r e t u r n e d t o t h e U . S . i n 2006 and taught at Stanford for one year before coming to U C B e r k e l e y w h e r e s h e n o w t e a c h e s i n t h e C l a s s i c s D e p a r t m e n t . P i e r a c c i n i ' s research interests and publi- c a t i o n s i n c l u d e E t r u s c a n p o t t e r y , f u n e r a r y r i t u a l a n d customs, Etruscan and Roman wall painting and the reception of the Etruscans in the 18 th and 19 th centuries. She is a member of the distinguished Istituto di S t u d i E t r u s c h i e d I t a l i c i i n Florence, Italy, and co-editor of a n e w b o o k s e r i e s e n t i t l e d , Cities of the Etruscans. Although Dr. Pieraccini's qualifications and contributions to the Center are substantial, s h e c r e d i t s P r o f e s s o r D e l Chiaro as the inspiration behind this project. It is because of his v i s i o n a n d d o n a t i o n s t o U C Berkeley, that plans for a center are now underway. These plans a r e b e i n g s u p p o r t e d b y D e a n A n t h o n y C a s c a r d i , i n a d d i t i o n t o m e m b e r s o f t h e Berkeley faculty dedicated to t h e s t u d y o f a n c i e n t I t a l y — n a m e l y , P r o f e s s o r s C h r i s H a l l e t t , C a r l o s N o r e ñ a , a n d T e d P e ñ a . T h e c e n t e r w i l l highlight some of Berkeley's i m p o r t a n t c o l l e c t i o n s , s u c h as the substantial collection o f E t r u s c a n a r t i n t h e Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at UC Berkeley, as well as Del Chiaro's own personal archives, and a special research library dedicated to E t r u s c a n a n d E a r l y R o m a n s t u d i e s . T h e r e a r e v a r i o u s f u n d r a i s i n g e v e n t s b e i n g p l a n n e d i n s u p p o r t o f t h i s important center, in addition to Berkeley's annual Del Chiaro Lecture. For information on how to make a contribution, p l e a s e c o n t a c t t h e P r o j e c t D i r e c t o r , L i s a P i e r a c c i n i a t lisap@berkeley.edu. Please take a look at The Center for the Study of Ancient Italy's website for more details. http://www.csancientitaly.com/i ndex.html People Behind the Center for the Study of Ancient Italy at UC Berkeley CATHERINE ACCARDI Mario Del Chiaro and Lisa Pieraccini in an Etruscan tomb at Cerveteri, 1997. Courtesy of Dr. Lisa Pieraccini Mario A. Del Chiaro. Courtesy of Dr. Lisa Pieraccini SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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