User:Francesca Dimattia/Domenico Ridola

Domenico Ridola
Domenico Ridola (Ferrandina, 19 October 1841 - Matera, 11 June 1932) was an Italian physician, a politician and archeologist.

Biography
He was born by Gregorio Ridola and the noblewoman Camilla de Gemmis of Terlizzi. In 1865 he graduated in Medicine at the University of Naples Federico II, so he continued his studies in Italy and abroad for many years. He returned to his home-town, Matera, where he opened a private practice. He was a very talented doctor, in fact he stood out thanks to his researches about a desease of the mouth, known as Malattia di Ridola. ''   ''

He became mayor of Matera for few months, and provincial counsillor for many years. In 1906 he was also deputy for the Matera's college. In 1909 he was re-elected and on 16 October 1913, at the age of 72, he was nominated senator at the Parliament of Regno d'Italia.

During all his life he was a keen archaeologist, in fact since 1872 he promoted a lot of works of excavation all around the Matera's territory and in the Murge. Among his discoveries, there are: In 1911 Domenico Ridola donated all the collected stuff to the State and it is now preserved into the Museo archelogico nazionale Domenico Ridola, dedicated to his memory.
 * prehistorical stuff that dates back to the Paleolithic, found in the Matera's area, in particular in the Grotta dei pipistrelli;
 * many trenched villages of Neolithic era: Domenico Ridola had a brilliant intuition that brought him to discover the first trenches by observing that the colour of grassland in circular moats was darker than neighboring one that, in June, was dry;
 * an ancient necropolis and a prosperous stips votiva in Timmari, a place where prehistorical men offered sacrifice to divinities;
 * the neolithic site of Serra d'Alto, famous for its potteries;
 * finding of tombs belonging to the Age of metals.

He was a member of the Istituto Archeologico Germanico, of the Accademia Francese di Archeologia, of the Accademia Pontaniana and of the ''Società Magna Grecia. ''For his great credits he was elected as inspector of Matera's excavations and of ancient monuments.

Category:Italian archaeologists Category:Italian physicians Category:1932 deaths Category:1841 births Category:20th-century Italian politicians