Paolo Orsi, born in Rovereto in 1859, was one of the most important Italian archaeologists.
He arrived in Syracuse in 1888, as a third-class inspector of the Excavations and Museums of Syracuse, under the direction of Francesco Saverio Cavallari.
Orsi devoted himself to the study of prehistory, with a specific focus on Bronze Age townships such as Pantalica.
Orsi’s contribution is now considered fundamental for his methodological rigour in the documentation and study of mobile artefacts, through typological comparison and dialogue between different natural disciplines and archaeological analysis.
Orsi’s intuition and scientific rigour made him the first true great Italian archaeologist.
