Margherita Elena Pomero, University of Bologna

Theodore Calliopa is known to have been exarch of Italy twice in the mid-seventh century, but before that he was also a praetorian prefect. Besides the written sources, infact, his career in the Byzantine administration of Italy is also attested by some known, albeit controversial, seals. To these a bilingual seal can be added belonging to a patrikios called Theodore, previously attributed to a praetorian prefect in Africa in the second half of the sixth century. However, the recent discovery of a similar specimen among the seals of the National Museum in Ravenna and a re-examination of the available sources allow us to propose its reattribution to same Theodore Calliopa. This research is part of the project for the revision and digitisation of Byzantine seals of the exarchal period preserved in Italian museum institutions, supported by the CHANGES partnership: "Cultural Heritage Active Innovation for Next-Gen Sustainable Society".