Giorgio Otranto

Giorgio Otranto (19 September 1940 – 5 January 2023) was an Italian historian, specialized in the history of early Christianity.

Giorgio Otranto
Born	19 September 1940 (1940-09-19) Corigliano Calabro, Cosenza, Italy
Died	5 January 2023 (2023-01-06) (aged 82) Bari, Italy
Occupation	Historian

Life and career

Born in Corigliano Calabro, the son of a tailor, Otranto graduated in Classical Literature at the University of Bari.^[1]

The main object of Otranto's studies was the history of Christianity, particularly the history of early Christianity in central and southern Italy up to the time of Pope Gregory I (590-604).^[1] He founded the Centro di studi Micaelici e Garganici in Monte Sant'Angelo, a research institute mainly devoted to studies related to the Archangel Michael cult.^[2] He served as a full professor of History of Christianity and Churches in the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy at his alma mater, and starting from the early 1990s he was visiting professor in a number of foreign universities.^[3] In 2012 he was awarded the Premio Presidente della Repubblica for his career.^[2]

Otranto died of a cerebral haemorrhage in Bari, on 5 January 2023, at the age of 82.^[3]