ROME – The renowned Helleno-Italian Hellenist Mario Vitti has died in Rome at the age of 96. Lucid until the last day of his life, he was a leading scholar of the Greek language, and a close friend of Odysseus Elytis, Mikis Theodorakis, and many other writers and artists. He published in Italy his widely translated work ‘Greek literature, Modern History and criticism’ and had taught Modern Greek for many years at the University of Tuscia in central Italy.

Recently, the Chair of Modern Greek Studies at the University of Rome had dedicated to him the Observatory of the Laboratory for the Greek Language.