Archaeologist Filippo Maria Gambari dies at 66

Filippo Maria Gambari, director of the Museo della Civiltà in Rome, died at 66 while hospitalized at Spallanzani for COVID-19. His career began at age 15 on archaeological digs across Italy. He graduated in Etruscology at the University of Milan, then worked at the Soprintendenza del Piemonte, becoming a manager in 2009 and Superintendent for Archaeological Heritage of Liguria that same year. Between 2014 and 2015 he held similar roles in Emilia Romagna and Lombardy. He published over 200 titles on Prehistory, Protohistory, rock art, Celtic epigraphy, ancient viticulture, Etruscan influences, Golasecca culture, and pre-Roman Ligurian populations. He directed the Museo della Civiltà, which houses collections from the Museo Preistorico Etnografico "Luigi Pigorini", Museo delle Arti e Tradizioni Popolari "Lamberto Loria", Museo dell'Alto Medioevo "Alessandra Vaccaro", Museo d'Arte Orientale "Giuseppe Tucci", and Museo Italo Africano "Ilaria Alpi". He was near retirement. Minister Dario Franceschini praised him as a refined scholar and excellent director. Francesco Sirano, director of the Parco Archeologico di Ercolano, recalled Gambari's role as director of that park from September 2016 to April 2017 and as a board member. Jane Thompson of the Herculaneum Conservation Project noted his dedication commuting between Sardinia and Ercolano.