Sebastiano Tusa facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sebastiano Tusa
Councillor for Cultural Heritage for Sicily
In office 11 April 2018 – 10 March 2019
Preceded by	Vittorio Sgarbi
Personal details
Born	(1952-08-02)2 August 1952 Sicily, Italy
Died	10 March 2019(2019-03-10) (aged 66) near Bishoftu, Ethiopia
Spouse	Valeria Patrizia Li Vigni
Alma mater	Sapienza University of Rome
Occupation	Archaeologist, professor, politician

Sebastiano Tusa (born August 2, 1952 – died March 10, 2019) was an Italian archaeologist and politician. He was known for his work studying ancient history, especially underwater. From April 2018 until his death in March 2019, he served as a special advisor for Cultural Heritage in the Sicilian Region of Italy. He also taught paleontology at the Suor Orsola Benincasa University of Naples.

Life and Discoveries

Sebastiano Tusa was the son of another famous archaeologist, Vincenzo Tusa. He studied literature and specialized in Paleontology at Sapienza University of Rome. Paleontology is the study of ancient life through fossils.

Since 1993, he worked for the Sicilian government. He was in charge of the archaeology part of the Regional Center for Design and Restoration. In 2003, during his excavations in Pantelleria, his team found three ancient Roman portraits.

Later, Tusa focused on managing cultural heritage. He led the archaeological office in Trapani. In 2004, he became the first "Superintendent of the Sea" for Sicily. This important role meant he was responsible for protecting underwater archaeological sites. He organized digs in Italy, Pakistan, Iran, and Iraq.

Important Underwater Finds

In 2005, Sebastiano Tusa led excavations at Motya. There, his team uncovered an ancient submerged road that led to the island. They also found structures that looked like old docks.

In 2008, Tusa worked with Folco Quilici on a documentary. It was about the ancient history of the Mediterranean Sea near Pantelleria. The excavations he supported also showed that Pantelleria was a busy trading spot in ancient times.

In 2010, he was made an honorary member of the National Archaeologists Association. He returned to lead the Superintendence of the Sea in 2012. On April 11, 2018, he became the councilor for Cultural Heritage for the Sicilian Region.

Tragic Death

Sebastiano Tusa was one of 157 people who died in the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. This happened on March 10, 2019. The plane was flying from Addis Ababa to Nairobi. He was on his way to Malindi to attend a conference organized by UNESCO. He was 66 years old when he passed away.

He was survived by his wife, Valeria Patrizia Li Vigni. She is the director of the Palazzo Riso Museum of Contemporary Art in Palermo.

Teaching and Research

From the 2000s until his death, Tusa taught Marine Archaeology at the University of Palermo. He also taught Paleontology at the Suor Orsola Benincasa University of Naples. He was a lecturer at the School of Arts and Humanities at the University of Bologna. In 2015-2016, he was a visiting professor at the Philipps University of Marburg in Germany.

Books and Publications

Sebastiano Tusa wrote many books about archaeology and ancient history. Here are some of his works:

• La preistoria nel territorio di Trapani, Marsilio, 1990.
• Mozia, Publisicula, 1990.
• Sicilia preistorica, Dario Flaccovio Editore, 1994. ISBN: 88-7758-227-8.
• La Sicilia nella preistoria, Sellerio, 1999, ISBN: 88-389-1440-0.
• Archeologia e storia nei mari di Sicilia, Magnus, 2010. ISBN: 978-88-7057-252-0.
• Selinunte, L'Erma di Bretschneider, 2011. ISBN: 978-88-8265-592-1.
• Sicilia archeologica, Edizioni di Storia e Studi Sociali, 2015. ISBN: 978-88-99168-05-6
• Primo Mediterraneo. Meditazioni sul mare più antico della storia, Edizioni di Storia e Studi Sociali, 2016
• (in it) I popoli del Grande Verde : il Mediterraneo al tempo dei faraoni. Ragusa: Edizioni Storia e Studi Sociali. 2018. ISBN 9788899168308. OCLC 1038750254.

See also

In Spanish: Sebastiano Tusa para niños