Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente
Encyclopedia
Established in 1995, as the result of the merging of Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente (IsMEO) with the Istituto Italo-Africano (IIA), IsIAO has been presided over since its inception by Professor Gherardo Gnoli. The Institute is active in the field of cultural promotion aimed at fostering fruitful relations between Italy
and the Africa
n and Asia
n countries. The aims of the Institute are: to establish and implement study and research projects; to promote cultural and scientific collaboration initiatives through the exchange of information, experience and knowledge among researchers and specialists; to implement cooperation, consultancy and assistance projects, with special regard to the conservation and promotion of the heritage of the Asian countries and to carry out missions and archaeological campaigns in these countries; to carry on publishing activities alone or in collaboration with other institutions, or with publishers; to enter into conventions or agreements providing for joint activities with universities, academies, cultural and research institutions in Italy and abroad.
The Photograph Library: The African section inherited from the Ministry for Italian Africa, comprises some five-hundred thousand photographic prints and some twenty thousand negatives. The Oriental section includes five-hundred thousand photos shot during Institute missions. Approximately twelve thousand are the fruit of Giuseppe Tucci
’s expeditions in the Himalayan region, with unique photos of Tibetan monuments
that are not any longer existing.
The Map Library on the other hand is a rich collection comprising three thousand geographic maps for a total of fourteen thousand sheets, inherited from the Map Service of the Ministry for Italian Africa. The collection, which covers the last decade but one of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th, is the largest and most important of its kind in Italy and takes in Eritrea
, Ethiopia
, Somalia
and Libya
in particular.
The Museum Collections are the Oriental collections, which are the property of the Institute and deposited in the ‘Giuseppe Tucci’ National Museum of Oriental Art in Rome
, made up of material discovered during archaeological campaigns. The Gandhara art finds are extremely important. The African collections are conserved by the Institute include works by Italian artists who were active in the former colonies, Ethiopian paintings, wooden sculptures, documents and curios belonging to explorers, furnishings, local craftwork and archaeological materials.
, Japanese
, Arabic, Hindi
, Indonesian
etc.
Worth mentioning in particular are:
Among the periodicals:
The Institute’s Media Store went online in September 2008. All the books in the IsIAO publisher catalogue may be consulted and purchased at the site.
, People's Republic of China
, Georgia
, Japan
, Jordan
, Iran
, Kazakhstan
, Mali
, Nepal
, Oman
, Pakistan
, Thailand
, Turkmenistan
, Uzbekistan
, Yemen
.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and the Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n countries. The aims of the Institute are: to establish and implement study and research projects; to promote cultural and scientific collaboration initiatives through the exchange of information, experience and knowledge among researchers and specialists; to implement cooperation, consultancy and assistance projects, with special regard to the conservation and promotion of the heritage of the Asian countries and to carry out missions and archaeological campaigns in these countries; to carry on publishing activities alone or in collaboration with other institutions, or with publishers; to enter into conventions or agreements providing for joint activities with universities, academies, cultural and research institutions in Italy and abroad.
Documentary Assets and Museum Collections
The IsIAO library, divided into two sections — African and Oriental — contains some two thousand five hundred periodical publications (five hundred of which still extant), rare and precious collections (manuscripts, xylographs, ancient editions, maps, photographic collections, etc.).The Photograph Library: The African section inherited from the Ministry for Italian Africa, comprises some five-hundred thousand photographic prints and some twenty thousand negatives. The Oriental section includes five-hundred thousand photos shot during Institute missions. Approximately twelve thousand are the fruit of Giuseppe Tucci
Giuseppe Tucci
Giuseppe Tucci was an Italian scholar of oriental cultures, specialising in Tibet and history of Buddhism. During its zenith, Tucci was a supporter of Italian Fascism, and he used idealized portrayals of Asian traditions to support Italian ideological campaigns...
’s expeditions in the Himalayan region, with unique photos of Tibetan monuments
Tibetan art
Tibetan art refers to the art of Tibet. For more than a thousand years, Tibetan artists have played a key role in the cultural life of Tibet. From designs for painted furniture to elaborate murals in religious buildings, their efforts have permeated virtually every facet of life on the Tibetan...
that are not any longer existing.
The Map Library on the other hand is a rich collection comprising three thousand geographic maps for a total of fourteen thousand sheets, inherited from the Map Service of the Ministry for Italian Africa. The collection, which covers the last decade but one of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th, is the largest and most important of its kind in Italy and takes in Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
and Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
in particular.
The Museum Collections are the Oriental collections, which are the property of the Institute and deposited in the ‘Giuseppe Tucci’ National Museum of Oriental Art in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, made up of material discovered during archaeological campaigns. The Gandhara art finds are extremely important. The African collections are conserved by the Institute include works by Italian artists who were active in the former colonies, Ethiopian paintings, wooden sculptures, documents and curios belonging to explorers, furnishings, local craftwork and archaeological materials.
Courses of African and Oriental Languages and Culture
Courses offered at IsIAO are a long and consolidated tradition. As far back as 1934 — under the presidency of Giovanni Gentile and the vice-presidency of Giuseppe Tucci — IsMEO was already running courses in Chinese language and in Japanese language in Rome. In the 1951, the so-called ‘Practical three-year courses of Oriental languages and cultures’ was formally instituted. The courses offered include ChineseChinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, Arabic, Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, Indonesian
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
etc.
Publishing Activities
Ever since the 1950s, IsIAO has carried on an intense publishing activity which has so far led to the publication of more than 500 titles including monographs, critical editions of manuscripts written in oriental languages, excavation reports, conference proceedings and reviews.Worth mentioning in particular are:
- Serie Orientale Roma (101 titles)
- Reports and Memoirs (41 titles)
- Restorations (7 titles)
Among the periodicals:
- Africa, a quarterly in Italian, French and English (published 63 issues 1947-2008)
- East and West, a quarterly published in English (published 57 issues from 1950 to 2007)
The Institute’s Media Store went online in September 2008. All the books in the IsIAO publisher catalogue may be consulted and purchased at the site.
Correspondents
In order to carry on its activities and above all its scientific research, the Institute is involved in an international large network of agreements and memoranda stipulated over the years with European and Asian institutions. The Institute also has numerous corresponding fellows selected from among the most distinguished members of the international scientific world and makes use of their collaboration for the purpose of its research. IsIAO is currently active in the following countries: AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
.