Scientific Director

University of Naples "L'Orientale"

Valentino Nizzo, originally from Salento, is an associate professor of Etruscology and Pre-Roman Italian Archaeology at the University of Naples “L’Orientale” and coordinator of the Master’s degree programme in Archaeology. An archaeologist without borders and a scholar of ancient Italian cultures, he has long been involved in field research, conservation and heritage promotion. Before joining the university, he served as an official and manager at the Ministry of Culture, holding posts at the National Archaeological Museum of Ferrara and the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia, where he was the first independent director. Within the DiscoVereto project, he leads the scientific research and coordinates the study of Vereto as part of Leucantica, with the aim of combining excavation, education and public participation. 

In the past, he has coordinated other similar scientific initiatives in the same spirit and, in particular, the “Excavation of the Terramara di Pilastri”, which has become the model for the very concept of “participatory archaeology”.