In Memory of Ferdinando Fava (1960–2025)

14.08.2025

The Department of Historical and Geographic Sciences and the Ancient World expresses its profound sorrow at the untimely passing of Ferdinando Fava, Full Professor of Anthropology, on 14th August 2025.

Professor Fava leaves an enduring legacy in the field of anthropology. His extensive scholarly work focused primarily on the study of cities and the dynamics of urban peripheries, as well as on epistemology, ethics, and politics. Among his most significant publications is Lo Zen di Palermo. Antropologia dell’esclusione (Franco Angeli, 2008), the result of seven years of immersive ethnographic research in the Sicily capital city’s neighbourhood of the same name.

Throughout his career, he collaborated with numerous academic institutions in Italy and abroad, earning recognition for his rigorous yet profoundly human approach to research.

Among his most recent roles, he served as the Rector’s Advisor for Latin America and as coordinator of the Nova Didaxis project: Building an Inclusive Learning Community Together, which in 2024 produced the collaborative mural at Beato Pellegrino to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the University of Padua.

To honor his memory, in the coming months the Department will organise a series of initiatives to celebrate his cultural and scientific legacy within both the academic world and the community.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to Professor Fava’s family and to all who had the privilege of knowing him and collaborating with him.