THE ITALIAN INSTITUTE FOR THE MIDDLE AND FAR EAST (ISMEO)

The Institute was founded in 1933 in Rome on the initiative of the
orientalist Giuseppe Tucci (1894-1984) and the philosopher Giovanni Gentile
(1875-1944). Gentile, the first president of IsMEO, was an outstanding
figure in contemporary Italian society playing a very active role in
cultural matters and the reform of the educational system. Giuseppe Tucci
succeeded him as president from 1947 to 1978. From the outset, the
Institute has aimed primarily at fostering relations between Italy and the
countries of Asia, and studying the great civilizations of that continent.
The institute also has a Lombard Department which has been functioning in
Milan since 1937.

By Gh. Gnoli

Bound up as it was with the foreign policy pursued by the Italian
government of the period, until the Second World War initially IsMEO placed
particular emphasis on politico-cultural relations with Japan and the
Indian independence movements. However, in the field of oriental studies
proper attention focused largely on the religions and philosophies of
India, China, and Japan, as well as on the great Himalayan region which
Giuseppe Tucci studied and explored with unflagging energy and enthusiasm
(his eight expeditions to Tibet from 1929 to 1948 and six expeditions to
Nepal from 1950 to 1954 are famous).
In the fifties, IsMEO launched intensive archaeological activities in the
Swat valley, Pakistan, in 1955; in Afghanistan in 1957; and in 1959, in
Iran, mainly in the Hamun-i Hilmand basin in Sistan. At the same time the
Institute was nurturing Italian cultural relations with the countries of
Asia from Iran to Japan, organizing international conferences and a great
many art and archaeological exhibitions. Particular attention was devoted
to supporting Italian cultural institutes under the jurisdiction of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, especially in Japan, India, and Iran. A great
deal of restoration work went hand in hand with the archaeological activity
its aim being to create museums in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran
(Persepolis, Esfahan).
IsMEO is a public body under the supervision of the Italian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, run jointly with the Ministry of Universities and
Scientific and Technological Research and the Ministry of the Cultural and
Environmental Heritage. It is governed by a board including representatives
from the above Ministries and the Cabinet Council, although most of the
members are elected by the Institute Assembly. The board in turn elects its
own president and vice-president. The Institute Assembly consists of both
ordinary and honourary members. IsMEO membership includes associate members
and foreign corresponding members. At present the Institute has 113
ordinary, 19 honourary, 136 associate, and 80 corresponding members.
Membership implies an interest in fostering IsMEO's institutional aims,
whether in the field of oriental studies or in connection with Italy's
cultural relations with the countries of Asia. The bulk of the IsMEO
membership is made up of scholars in oriental studies and diplomats.

ACTIVITIES
The eighties saw institutional developments in IsMEO as the scope of
interests and activities extended to all the countries of Asia, including
the Near East. Thus archaeological work was also carried out in Yemen and
the sultanate of Oman, while 1991 saw a large International Conference held
in Rome with the title Arabia Antiqua. Archaeological activities were
expanded, and extended to Nepal, Thailand, Hungary, and Turkmenistan.
Among IsMEO's institutional commitments we should mention the courses run
by the School for Oriental Languages and Cultures for 850 students in the
Rome, Milan, and Turin centres (in collaboration with CESMEO), the
organization of exhibitions, meetings and conferences, a wealth of
publications and a specialized library.
On the basis of multi-annual conventions, IsMEO also operates in
collaboration with various other Italian and foreign institutes. One
notable example of such a collaboration is with the Ministry of the
Cultural and Environmental Heritage, to which IsMEO has entrusted its
collection of Asiatic art as a contribution to the creation of the National
Museum of Oriental Art in Rome's Palazzo Brancaccio.

THE LIBRARY
The IsMEO library comprises some 50,000 volumes and over 1,000 periodical
titles. A considerable part is the Giuseppe Tucci donation, which includes
not only a wealth of general material but also a section of Tibetan books
and manuscripts amounting to the largest collection in existence outside
the People's Republic of China. Numerous microfilms of ancient Chinese
books and manuscripts are also preserved here. Apart from direct
acquisitions, the library has also grown on the strength of exchanges and
donations, the latter including over 10,000 volumes previously in the
possession of Giuseppe Tucci as well as the Giacinto Auriti and Rossi
donations for the Japanese section, and the Dubbiosi donation containing
rare manuscripts in Arabic. The first volume of the "Giuseppe Tucci"
Tibetan donation was recently published.

PUBLICATIONS
IsMEO publishes among others the following series:
"Serie Orientale Roma", comprising essays and monographs (72 volumes to
date)
"IsMEO Reports and Memoirs", publishing the results of the archaeological
campaigns in Asia
"East and West", Quarterly Journal dedicated to oriental Studies. Chief
editor: M. Taddei
"Il Giappone", is published yearly in Italian as a series of volumes in
collaboration with the Japanese Institute of Culture at Rome. Editors: A.
Tamburello and P. Calvetti (31 Volumes)
"Cina", a series of volumes dealing with ancient and modern China. Edited
by L. Lanciotti (24 Volumes)

Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente IsMEO
Palazzo Brancaccio
Via Merulana 248
00185 Roma
Italy
Tel: +39-6-732741/2/3