Maria Floriani Squarciapino
Maria Floriani Squarciapino (1917-2003) was an Italian classical archaeologist and professor at La Sapienza University in Rome, known for her work on the Roman port city of Ostia. Education. Maria Floriano Squarciapino studied at La Sapienza University in Rome and was a student of Pietro Romanelli, graduating in 1939 with a thesis on the topic of the school of Aphrodisias. She also developed an interest in the archaeology of North Africa in the Roman period, and underwent training at the "Scuola nazionale di Archeologi." Career. Floriano Squarciapino became an inspector at the "Soprintendenza" for Ostia in  1946, where she worked closely with Italo Gismondi, Giovanni Becatti, Herbert Bloch and others. After the publication of the excavations of the Ostian necropolis in 1959, Floriano Squarciapino turned her attention to the Ostia Synagogue, where she directed excavations in 1961–62. In 1966 she became the superintendent of the "Soprintendenza Archeologica di Ostia" and held this position until 1974. During the 1960s and 70s, Floriano Squarciapino also taught at La Sapienza, and in 1974 left the "Soprintendenza Archeologica di Ostia" to take up a position as Professor of the Archaeology and History of the Roman provinces ("Archeologia e Storia delle  provincie romane") at La Sapienza, which she held until her retirement in 1987. As well as her work at Ostia, Floriano Squarciapino also participated in excavations elsewhere, including the Roman Forum (1955–57), Leptis Magna, Tell Mardikh (1964–66) and in Albania. A collection of her notes from excavations at Leptis Magna was published by Paola Finocchi in 2012. Floriano Squarciapino also contributed to the "Enciclopedia dell'Arte Antica, Classica e Orientale" and led the editorial team at "Fasti Archeologici" from 1982 to 1997. She was the president of the "Associazione Internazionale di Archeologia Classica," a member of the Pontificia Accademia Romana di  Archeologia, the "Istituto Nazionale di Studi Romani" and the German Archaeological Institute. In 1997 a special volume of the journal "Archaeologica Classica" was published in her honour. Awards. In 1975 Floriano Squarciapino was awarded the "Antonio-Feltrinelli Prize", one of the most prestigious scientific awards within Italy. Select publications. Squarciapino published extensively on Ostia and Roman Archaeology in North Africa, including: