[1] The son of a Florentine banker, he first made his name in the Italian scientific community at the age of 20, when he explored a cave near Genoa, discovering Neolithic remains of exceptional value.

Modigliani was also a disciple of Cesare Lombroso, an eminent anthropologist, criminologist and jurist, who was the Italian herald of physiognomy.

[3] Moreover, the head hunters' villages were at war with each other at the time of his visit, and Modigliani was travelling with the sole company of four Javanese tracker hunters, i.e., virtually undefended; and he personally clashed with high-ranking members of Nias society, including the redoutable Siwa Sahilu, who commanded some 2,000 warriors out of his village of Hili Simaetano.

Yet, Elio Modigliani managed to save his own head and that of his men, and bring back a formidable collection of Nias artefacts for the Ethnographic Museum of Florence, where they are presently on display.

[4] During his exploration, Modigliani was faced on several occasions with highly dangerous situations, and yet he never had to fire a shot nor even to level his weapons against a warrior.