IFA Excavations at Selinunte

In Memoriam

The Archaeological Mission in Selinunte of the Institute of Fine Arts–NYU and of the University of Milan mourns the tragic passing away of Luca Restelli, a long-standing member of our project, and a friend and mentor to many within the Institute community. Our Mission wishes to express its continued condolences to Luca’s family and its sincerest sympathy to his friends and colleagues.

A recent graduate from the Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni Archeologici at the University of Milan, where he also earned his B.A. in Archaeology, Luca joined the Selinunte mission in 2018, and quickly distinguished himself through his expertise in archaeology, his quick smile, and his gentle soul. Born in 1992, Luca, a member of the SAP (Società Archeologica Padana), was an archaeologist of great promise, with extensive fieldwork experience in Lombardy (including Calvatone, the Roman villa at Palazzo Pignano, and countless emergency archaeological excavations at various sites), Nora (Sardinia), Pompeii and Rome. Luca was recently appointed Assessore alla Cultura at Palazzo Pignano (Cremona).

The field of Archaeology is worse for his passing, yet we are all fortunate for having had the opportunity to spend as much time with him as we did. Luca, with his contagious enthusiasm and all the things he taught us, will always be in the hearts and memories of the Selinunte Team.