‘Demonstrating on the Outside’ and ‘Reviving on the Inside’. The Oriental School of Rome and the Reorganisation of Oriental Studies in Italy
Abstract
This paper aims to retrace a piece of the history of Oriental Studies in Rome and, more broadly, in Italy in the first years of the 20th century. Starting from unpublished documents, it chronicles the events related to the establishment of the Oriental School at the University of Rome (1904) and the subsequent reorganisation effort its professors – directed by I. Guidi – had hoped for. This attempt was the occasion for F.L. Pullé, in his role of member of the High Council for Public Education, to draw up a detailed report on Italian Oriental Studies which put forth a series of concrete proposals for a more general renewal of this field. In addition to allowing a better understanding of the history of Roman – and, more generally, Italian – Oriental Studies, the events recounted herein are emblematic of a broader effort, sustained by the same Orientalists since the mid-nineteenth century, to give a recognisable identity and a unitary orientation to a diverse group of disciplines.
Submitted: Feb. 21, 2022 | Accepted: April 5, 2022 | Published June 30, 2022 | Language: it
Keywords Francesco Lorenzo Pullé • Oriental School at University of Rome • History of Italian Culture • Angelo De Gubernatis • History of Oriental Studies in Italy • Post-Unification Italy • Celestino Schiaparelli • Graziadio Isaia Ascoli • Ignazio Guidi • Lodovico Nocentini
Copyright © 2022 Alice Crisanti. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/AnnOr/2385-3042/2022/01/016