GALANTE, Gennaro. — Archaeologist and ecclesiastical historian, born in Naples on 6 Oct. 1842, died there on 11 June 1923. From his youth he showed a keen interest in archaeological studies and at the same time made excellent progress in theological studies. Ordained priest in Rome in 1856, he came to know G. B. De Rossi, who took a great liking to him. On returning to Naples he continued his series of contributions.
In 1867, in fact, he wrote on the sepulchral slab of the archdeacon Theophilatus and the paintings in the catacomb of St Severus; in 1872 he published the Guida sacra della città di Napoli [Sacred Guide to the City of Naples]. He cherished the design of a Naples beneath the surface, but was unable to carry it out. In 1882 he found in a cave near Calvi some paintings representing St Castrenius and St Priscus. He reported to Rome in the Società dei cultori di archeologia cristiana [Society of Students of Christian Archaeology] on the discovery of images of the first bishops of Naples, arranged in a small underground basilica in the cemetery of St Januarius in Naples, similar to the series placed in the ancient cathedral known as the “Stephania”; he identified the inscription of the bishop of Naples Maximus from the time of Liberius (332–66); he made notable discoveries in the atrium of the catacomb of St Januarius (1889), where he also brought to light a baptistery (1899). He dealt with the question of the small basilicas of St John the Baptist, of St Euphebius, of St Severus, of SS Fortunatus and Maximus at the Lammatori, as well as other minor ones. He illustrated the cemetery of St Hippolytus, martyr in Arripalda, the monastery of St Severinus in the Castrum Lucullanum in Naples, the mosaics of the baptistery of the cathedral of Naples, etc. He compiled a large number of studies on sacred archaeology, ecclesiastical history, classical and Jewish archaeology (149 items dating from 1862 to 1923). Much also remains in his manuscripts, preserved in the Archiepiscopal Library; he donated a few volumes from his library to the Accademia di S. Pietro in Vincoli of the Archiepiscopal Lyceum.