Rate My Professor Giovanni Piccolo

Dr Giovanni Piccolo is a Teaching Fellow in the Classics programme at the University of Otago, situated within the School of Arts in the Humanities Division. He completed his PhD at the University of Melbourne in 2023, with a thesis titled 'The Collectanea Rerum Memorabilium by Gaius Julius Solinus: A Roman Geography for a Changing World', supervised by Professors Tim Parkin and Frederik Vervaet. This doctoral research analyzes the Collectanea Rerum Memorabilium, a late antique text by Gaius Julius Solinus compiling marvels of the natural world within a geographical description. Piccolo challenges earlier interpretations that treated the work solely as a summary of Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia, demonstrating through textual analysis Solinus's independent authorial voice. His study reveals how Solinus reorganized source material using specific tone, vocabulary, and alterations to promote a worldview affirming Rome's enduring cultural supremacy amid its waning political influence, likely composed during Constantine I's reign or the late third to early fourth century CE. The thesis underscores the function of mirabilia, especially animal paradoxography, in reinforcing a providential, deterministic order centered on Rome, reflecting the era's cultural eclecticism.

Piccolo's main research focus is ancient geography, particularly Latin geographical works from the late antique period, complemented by his philological expertise in manuscript traditions and textual criticism. Prior to his appointment at Otago, he taught Latin and Ancient Greek extensively in Victorian secondary schools. Currently, he instructs introductory language courses: LATN 111 Introductory Latin 1, LATN 112 Introductory Latin 2, GREK 111 Introductory Greek 1, and GREK 112 Introductory Greek 2. Additionally, he holds a BA (2006) and MA (2008) from Sapienza University of Rome.