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Madeleine Cavalier

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Madeleine Cavalier
Born27 June 1928 Edit this on Wikidata
Vacquières Edit this on Wikidata
Other namesla signorina francese Edit this on Wikidata
Spouse(s)Luigi Bernabò Brea Edit this on Wikidata
Awards
Position heldDirector of Research at CNRS Edit this on Wikidata

Madeleine Cavalier, also known in Italy by her nickname "signorina francese", born on June 27, 1928, is a French archaeologist and researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). Throughout her long career, she focused primarily on the Aeolian Islands, conducting extensive excavations there.

Together with Luigi Bernabò Brea, a very close collaborator who was briefly her husband, she was responsible for the establishment of the Aeolian Archaeological Museum of Lipari.

Biography

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She was born on June 27, 1928, in Vacquières, Hérault.[1] Despite not obtaining her baccalauréat, it didn't prevent her from pursuing studies at the University of Montpellier without obtaining a degree.[1][2] She later directed the excavations of Milazzo in 1951–1952.[1] In the same year, she became the secretary-general of the French section of the International Institute of Ligurian Studies.[3]

Subsequently, she was hired as a research associate at CNRS and, with the assistance of the French School of Athens and the French Institute of Lebanon, undertook a series of excavations in Cyprus, Greece, Lebanon, and Turkey.[1] She conducted excavations in Lemnos, among other places.[4]

The fruit of her research during this period in Greece focused on the relationships between prehistoric cultures in Greece and the Aeolian Islands.[5][6] This work is detailed in an article dating back to 1960.[7] The Aeolian Islands were actually the preferred subject of Madeleine Cavalier's study, and she devoted a significant part of her scientific output to them.[5] Through the analysis of excavated amphorae and workshops, she discovered, for example, that the island of Lipari derived its economic prosperity from the production of alum, which was then stored in amphorae for sale and transportation.[8] It was one of the few non-food products transported in amphorae at the time.[8] Her work was also crucial for understanding the unique linguistic aspects of the Aeolian Islands, both in relation to Greek and Latin.[9]

She married her colleague Luigi Bernabò Brea for a season, but the marriage did not last.[10][11] Nevertheless, the two continued to be close professional collaborators until Luigi Bernabo Brea's death.[10][11]

The opening of CNRS after the political changes following May 68 allowed her to join the institution even without a diploma or the baccalauréat, and she gradually climbed the ranks of the institution.[2] In 1980–1981, she conducted excavations in San Vincenzo on the island of Stromboli.[12]

In Italy, she earned the nickname "signorina francese" among the Italian population, meaning the 'French damsel', during her field research.[11] However, her research was not limited to Italy. For example, in 2009, she published "Les petites mains", a work dedicated to her ancestors in the town of Vacquières.[13]

In 1985, she was awarded the CNRS Silver Medal for her research and academic work.[14] She became a commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic on 12 April 1999[15] and was honored with the Order of Arts and Letters in 2007.[1][16]

She also co-founded the Aeolian Archaeological Museum of Lipari with Luigi Bernabò Brea.[5][17][18]

Legacy

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En 2003, Pierre Vidal-Naquet revisited her figure, crediting her as having been an "extraordinary woman" and connecting her to his own vocation as a historian.[2] In 2018, a book in her honor was published, featuring contributions from numerous researchers, including Maria Bernabò Brea and Massimo Cultraro.[19]

Decorations

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Luigi Bernabò Brea - Madeleine Cavalier". www.luigibernabobrea.it. Archived from the original on 2023-10-30. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  2. ^ a b c Vidal-Naquet, Pierre (2003). "Pourquoi et comment je suis devenu historien". Esprit (1940-) (297 (8/9)): 56–75. ISSN 0014-0759. JSTOR 24248861.
  3. ^ "Séance du 25 octobre 1951". Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française. 48 (9): 385–417. 1951. Archived from the original on 2024-03-02. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  4. ^ Daux, Georges (1961). "Lemnos". Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique. 85 (1): 834–835. Archived from the original on 2024-02-26. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  5. ^ a b c "Médaille d'argent du CNRS à Madeleine Cavalier - Centre Jean Bérard". centrejeanberard.cnrs.fr. Archived from the original on 2024-03-02. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  6. ^ "4 - Les secrets d'Eole". L'Express (in French). 2003-07-23. Archived from the original on 2024-03-02. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  7. ^ Cavalier, Madeleine (1960). "Les cultures préhistoriques des îles éoliennes et leur rapport avec le monde égéen". Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique. 84 (1): 319–346. doi:10.3406/bch.1960.1562. Archived from the original on 2020-12-11. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  8. ^ a b Boisseuil, Didier; Rico, Christian; Gelichi, Sauro (2021). Le marché des matières premières dans l'Antiquité et au Moyen Âge (in French). Publications de l’École française de Rome. ISBN 978-2-7283-1406-5. Archived from the original on 2024-02-29. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  9. ^ Dubois, Laurent (2005). "Alphabet, Onomastique Et Dialecte Des Îles Lipari". Revue des Études Grecques. 118 (1): 214–228. doi:10.3406/reg.2005.4612. ISSN 0035-2039. JSTOR 44260693.
  10. ^ a b Malone, Caroline; Stoddart, Simon (2000). "Luigi Bernabò Brea (1910-1999)". American Journal of Archaeology. 104 (1): 123–124. doi:10.1086/AJS506795. ISSN 0002-9114. JSTOR 506795. S2CID 193833021. Archived from the original on 2016-08-11. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  11. ^ a b c "Il lungo viaggio di Madeleine/Ritratto di un'archeologa francese innamorata delle Isole Eolie – fuoricronaca" (in Italian). 2002-06-17. Archived from the original on 2024-03-02. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  12. ^ Yoon, David; Levi, Sara T.; Ollà, Annunziata; Tigano, Gabriella (2018). "Medieval Coins from the Site of San Vincenzo on the Island of Stromboli, Italy". American Journal of Numismatics (1989-). 30: 227–244. ISSN 1053-8356. JSTOR 26932662. Archived from the original on 2024-03-03. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  13. ^ « [Madeleine Cavalier est née à Vacquières...] », Midi Libre,‎ 11 janvier 2022
  14. ^ Burgos, Valérie (2023-01-31). "Médailles d'argent du CNRS 1960-2010". Comité pour l'histoire du CNRS (in French). doi:10.58079/n1ag. Archived from the original on 2024-02-29. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  15. ^ "Gazzetta Ufficiale". www.gazzettaufficiale.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2024-03-03. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  16. ^ "Nomination ou promotion dans l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres janvier 2007". www.culture.gouv.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 2023-03-21. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  17. ^ Pracanica, Alessio (2020-06-22). "Il museo Bernabò Brea di Lipari, uno dei più ricchi e meno conosciuti musei del Mediterraneo. Foto". Dazebaonews (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2023-10-01. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  18. ^ Martinelli, Maria Clara; Spigo, Umberto (2014). "Le isole Eolie dalla fondazione del Museo Archeologico Luigi Bernabò Brea alla istituzione del Parco Archeologico delle Isole Eolie: problemi di tutela e valorizzazione". 150 anni di preistoria e protostoria in Italia. - ( Studi di preistoria e protostoria; 1) (in Italian): 561–565. Archived from the original on 2023-05-09. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  19. ^ À Madeleine Cavalier. Collection du Centre Jean Bérard. Centre Jean Bérard. 2018. ISBN 978-2-918887-82-9.
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