Institutions
This conference was made possible thanks to the support of the following institutions:
Founded in 1404 by prince Ludovico di Savoia-Acaia, the University of Torino is one of the oldest European universities. Among its alumi the University of Torino counts Erasmus of Rotterdam, Luigi Einaudi (former president of the Republic of Italy), Antonio Gramsci, Salvatore Luria (Nobel laureate in medicine - 1969), Renato Dulbecco (Nobel laureate in medicine - 1975), Rita Levi Montalcini (Nobel laureate in medicine - 1986), Primo Levi and Umberto Eco. Home of more than 70 undergraduate programs, over 168 master programs, and 35 Phd programs, with over 70.000 students, the University of Torino is today one of the largest Italian universities. The University of Torino has an established tradition of studies and research in ancient Near Eastern archaeology that in recent years has been strenghtened with the inclusion of cuneiform studies. Today, the Department of Historical Studies is home of six faculty members covering a wide spectrum of Ancient Near Eastern Studies including Assyriology, Ancient Near Eastern History, Hittitology, Archeology of the Ancient Near East, Archaeology of Iran and Central Asia, and Egyptology.
Founded in 1963 by Giorgio Gullini, the Centro Ricerche Archeologiche e Scavi di Torino has linked its name and that of Turin to historical/archaeological research, the enhancement of the cultural heritage and the preservation and restoration of the architectural and archaeological resources in several countries within the Mediterranean area – including Italy – and the Near and Middle East. Starting from the 1960’, the Centre has conducted field researches in Iraq on the sites of Seleucia on the Tigris, Choche-Ctesiphon, in the Tell Yelkhi area when the Diyala dam was built, in the Roman fortress at Kifrin on the Euphrates, at Khirbet Hatara, Hatra, Nimrud, Babylon. At present, field researches focus on Iran, with the study of the rock reliefs and the excavations in the Izeh region in Khuzistan, Turkmenistan, where the archaeological mission at Parthian Nisa has been active since 1990, and Iraq, with the project of surveys and excavations at Tulul al Baqarat.
Founded in 1824, the Museo Egizio is the world oldest museum devoted entirely to ancient Egyptian culture and houses the second largest collection worldwide. From the original core of the Drovetti Collection acquired by king Carlo Felice, between 1903 and 1937 the collection of the Museo Egizio was expaded by the finds of Ernesto Schiaparelli and then by Giulio Farina that brought some 30.000 artefacts to Turin. In recognition of Italy’s aid in rescuing the Nubian temples threatened by the waters of the Aswan dam, the Egyptian government donated the rock temple of Ellesiya that, cut into blocks, was brought to Turin and opened to the public in 1970. On the occasion of the Winter Olympics in 2006, the statuary was rearranged by the set designer and Oscar winner Dante Ferretti. The Museo Egizio houses more than 37.000 items covering a period from the Paleolithic to the Coptic era including the aforementioned Temple of Ellesiya, the tomb of Kha and Merit, the Turin Royal Canon, the Turin Erotic Papyrus and the statues of Isis, Sekhmet and Ramses II.