Gennaro Aspreno
Galante (1843–1923)
Gennaro
Galante was a clergyman, professor and highly
respected historian, primarily of the
religious history of Naples. He was afforded a
generous education by his parents and
dedicated his studies to the ancient world,
Latin and Greek literature and to the writings
of Thomas Aquinas. He was ordained a priest in
1866 by Sisto Riario
Sforza, the archbishop of Naples and began a
teaching career at various posts.
In 1872 he co-authored Guida Sacra della
Citta di Napoli (Sacred Guide to the
City of Naples), a work that divided the
churches of Naples into 14 daily itineraries
(tours) that could be followed; it is still an
important reference work (especially in light
of the urban reconstruction of Naples after
the publication that essentially obliterated
some sacred sites. (we know about them largely
through works such as these). (Image,
right, is the cover of a modern reprint.)
He held various positions such as custodian of
the sacred treasures of the cathedral of
Naples, and inspector of the excavations and
monuments in Pozzuoli. He dedicated much of
his life to the catacombs in Naples,
particularly the catacombs of San Gennaro,
showing that these were indeed Christian
catacombs and not simply caves or passageways
and some insisted.
The archbishop's palace in Naples contains a
collection of Galante's considerable output of
literature and research documents, still
important for modern researchers. These
include (this is a tiny sampling):
- Illustrazione di un'antica lapide greca
ritrovata in Napoli [Illustrations of an
Ancient Greek inscription in Naples];
- Memorie
dell'antico Cenobio Lucullano di S. Severino
[Memories of the ancient Lucullan monastery];
- Guida sacra della città di Napoli
[Sacred Guide to Naples];
- Omaggio storico a S. Tomaso d'Aquino
[Historical Homage to Thomas Aquinas];
- L'archeologia cristiana nella storia della
Chiesa [Christian archaeology in the
history of the Church].
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