Collecting coins and connecting collectors : government and social networks in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1816-1860)

Recent archival research has revealed new data on the history of collecting and archaeology in northern Sicily during the nineteenth century, when Sicily was ruled by the Bourbons and annexed to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Records show how collectors, dealers and diggers operated in this historical context, and authorities dealt with illegal excavations, acquisition of collections and exportations of finds abroad. The main scope of this paper is to pinpoint an unexpected system of networks in Bourbon Sicily, focused on two principal case studies. First of all, I outline the so-called ‘Network of state authorities’, which comprises regional and local authorities dealing with the supervision and management of Sicilian antiquities. Archival research has clarified how the Bourbons undertook accurate and careful safeguarding to achieve this aim and to protect the archaeology. To explore this, I use the valuable case study of Giuseppa Giammone (1832), who found and collected ancient coins in Giarre (Catania) without reporting them to the local authorities

Numismatic and archaeological collecting in northern Sicily during the first half of the nineteenth century

This research examines the archaeological protection system and antiquarian collecting in northern Sicily, in particular in the coastal strip from Palermo to Messina during the first half of the nineteenth century. Substantially, the most represented historical period is the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1814-1861). The strength of the research, which is relevant to the history of Sicilian coin collecting and archaeology, is a substantial set of materials, discovered at the State Archive of Palermo and Fondazione Mandralisca of Cefalù. It comprises 141 archival records, which have been transcribed, ordered and studied thoroughly. Chapter 1 contains a general introduction about Sicilian archaeological protection systems and antiquarianism from the end of the eighteenth century to the post-Unification period. Chapter 2, based mainly on archival records, focuses on Palermo, the most important city of the Bourbon Sicily, where authorities managed and protected island antiquities. Sections describe the collections of Tommaso Gandolfo and Antonino Astuto, acquired by the Museum of the University, and the discovery of coins at Giarre in 1832. Enrico Pirajno's activities at Cefalù and Lipari are also examined in this chapter - he is considered one of the most skilful Sicilian antiquarians during the first half of the nineteenth century. The last section reports a significant numismatic discovery in the Cefalù Valley in 1824. Chapter 4 describes Tindari, where the Sciacca della Scala family led antiquarian research from the late eighteenth century until the late nineteenth century. Their collection of finds, kept in a private museum at the Castle of Scala di Patti is now lost. Chapter 5 discusses Giuseppe Grosso Cacopardo, the well-known coin collector from Messina (including the recent discovery of a special 'export' of ancient coins, found in Messina in 1845, to the King of Bavaria. The work's conclusion offers a final historical reconstruction of the numismatic and archaeological collecting in northern Sicily, according to new and substantial records. Five appendices report archival documentation, arranged in thematic sections

‘Archive archaeology’ : dusting off records and digging up data on past archaeologies in Sicily (1861-1915)

Can archives be used to reveal the history of past archaeological research? Archaeology is not just digging! Archives are not just dusty accumulations of paper generated by bureaucratic procedures…Many in fact hold remarkable records about the explorations of ancient sites, and about the characters – sometimes fascinating ones – who led the excavations. We can thus dig up the past inside as well as outside

When archaeology meets communities : impacting interactions in Sicily over two eras (Messina, 1861-1918)

When Archaeology Meets Communities examines the history of nineteenth-century Sicilian archaeology through the archival documentation for the excavations – official and casual – at Tindari, Lipari and nearby minor sites in the Messina province from Italy’s Unification to the end of the First World War (1861-1918). The area and historical period have been fully neglected by past scholars and need in-depth investigation. The substantial evidence includes sets of approximately six hundred new records and black and white images from Italian and UK archives. The historical reconstruction, based on analysis of these records, lays the foundations for the entire volume and forms the basis from which the book develops innovative outlines on Sicilian archaeology. The structure follows this central concept. Furthermore, the volume seeks: a) to clarify relationships between the Italian Ministry of Public Education, the Museum of Palermo and local government authorities (‘3-level’ structure of interaction) and to pinpoint contacts with the contemporary social context; b) to compare archaeological research during the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the post-Unification period in northern Sicily in terms of methods, history of collecting, antiquities safeguarding and legislation; and c) to contextualise this work in terms of the evolution of archaeology and social change in the wider Italian and European contexts

Maschere teatrali nella Sicilia settentrionale: tra collezionismo antiquario e ricerca archeologica

Il presente contributo, seguendo la storia della ricerca antiquaria ed archeologica, si prefigge lo scopo di esaminare la produzione di maschere teatrali d’età ellenistica nell’area della Sicilia settentrionale. In particolare a Lipara (Lipari, ME) si sviluppò in stretta connessione con l’ambito funerario un fiorente artigianato, intensificatosi soprattutto nel III sec. a.C., non casualmente in contemporanea con la grande diffusione del teatro di Menandro. Nell’ambito dell’antiquaria del XIX sec. ebbe notevole rilevanza in quell’area della Sicilia E. Pirajno (1809-1864), barone di Mandralisca, erudito numismatico e studioso di antichità, il quale si prodigava in sterri e ricerche presso le necropoli liparesi di contrada Diana, rinvenendo manufatti di gran pregio, successivamente trasferiti presso il suo palazzo nobiliare di Cefalù (PA). Pare che il barone nutrisse un certo interesse collezionistico per i reperti “teatrali”, come è provato da un acquisto effettuato presso Tindari (ME). Negli anni ’70 del Novecento fu scoperta nello stesso sito la grande maschera marmorea di Priamo (?), differente per funzione e originaria collocazione rispetto alle altre terracotte teatrali. A Lipari operò per altri fini lo scozzese J. Stevenson (1822-1903) e più tardi P. Orsi (1859-1935), seguito dall’illustre e attivissimo archeologo L. Bernabò Brea (1910-1999), il quale dedicò amplissimi studi allo studio della produzione di terracotte teatrali

G. L. Castelli, principe di Torremuzza, numismatico ed antichista ad Halaesa Archonidea

G. L. Castelli (1727-1792), principe di Torremuzza, fu uno dei massimi esponenti dell’antiquaria siciliana del XVIII secolo. Questo contributo esamina l’attività di ricerca di Castelli, interessato alla monetazione ed alle evidenze archeologiche di Halaesa Archonidea, oggi identificata nei pressi di Tusa (ME). È proposta un’analisi degli scritti di Castelli inerenti queste tematiche, valutandone criticamente l’importanza secondo le istanze della ricerca antiquaria. Certamente è emerso il profilo di un antichista dai poliedrici interessi, da considerarsi il fondatore degli studi numismatici ed archeologici moderni dell’antica Halaesa

Use of the KlADH4 promoter for ethanol-dependent production of recombinant human serum albumine in Kluyveromyces lactis

KlADH4 is a gene of Kluyveromyces lactis encoding a mitochondrial alcohol dehydrogenase activity which is specifically induced by ethanol. The promoter of this gene was used for the expression of heterologous proteins in K. lactis, a very promising organism which can be used as an alternative host to Saccharomyces cerevisiae due to its good secretory properties. In this paper we report the ethanol-driven expression in K. lactis of the bacterial beta-glucuronidase and of the human serum albumin (HSA) genes under the control of the KlADH4 promoter. In particular, we studied the extracellular production of recombinant HSA (rHSA) with integrative and replicative vectors and obtained a significant increase in the amount of the protein with multicopy vectors, showing that no limitation of KlADH4 trans-acting factors occurred in the cells. By deletion analysis of the promoter, we identified an element (UASE) which is sufficient for the induction of KlADH4 by ethanol and, when inserted in the respective promoters, allows ethanol-dependent activation of other yeast genes, such as PGK and LAC4. We also analyzed the effect of medium composition on cell growth and protein secretion. A clear improvement in the production of the recombinant protein was achieved by shifting from batch cultures (0.3 g/liter) to fed-batch cultures (1 g/liter) with ethanol as the preferred carbon source