After his two years of theology (1917–19), he successfully sat for his Lectorate exams on 1 July 1919 with a dissertation titled De Reali Distinctione inter Essentiam et Esse in Creatis (The Real Distinction between Essence and Existence in Created Being).
He was invited on different occasions to address the Circulus Philosophicus (Philosophical Discussion Group) and was also asked to contribute to Thomistic periodicals, read sermons, and give speeches.
At Viterbo, Pirotta also prepared his first major publication: an exposition of Aquinas’ commentary on Aristotle’s De Anima (On the Soul).
In terms of literary production, Pirotta’s Roman years may be considered as his most prolific and industrious period, during which he wrote reviews, scientific articles, and prepared and published his second major work: another exposition on Aquinas’ commentaries on Aristotle’s De Sensu et Sensato (On Sense and Sensibility) and De Memoria et Reminiscientia (On Memory and Remembrance).
Pirotta stayed there for one academic year (1930-1931), where he taught the history of philosophy and the treatise on divine revelation.
The final exam was successfully held on 7 May 1931, in Rome at the Angelicum College, which by that time had been upgraded to the status of an international university.
As it was the usual practice, the title was conferred four years later: the official investiture was held at the Dominican Priory at Rabat, Malta on 24 November 1935.
In Naples, Pirotta may have been at the peak of his academic career as there he published the first of his planned six-volume Summa Philosophæ: a study about Aristotelico-Thomistic logic, called the Philosophia Rationalis (Rational Philosophy).
Later, he proceeded to publish his third exposition: this time of Aquinas’ commentary on Aristotle’s Ethicorum ad Nichomachum (Nicomachean Ethics).
A few months later, he issued his second volume of the Summa Philosophiæ, the one dealing with natural philosophy, called Philosophia Naturalis.
This was his fourth exposition, on Aquinas’ eight books of commentaries on Aristotle’s De Physico Auditu (Physics), which was published in 1953.
The following list of notes are working annotations prepared by Pirotta for various publications, academic talks, or lectures, over an extended period of time.
The following written texts are full transcripts of talks read by Pirotta at academic institutes, in Malta and elsewhere in Italy, that he was part of.
The Italian orations would have been read to diocesan priests or members of religious orders, and the Maltese ones to the general public.