An Expo for Italian Archaeology Abroad

Friday 28^th September, on the first day of the 8^th edition of TourismA – Expo of Archaeology and Cultural Tourism, organized by Archeologia Viva (Giunti publisher) at the Palazzo dei Congressi in Florence, Office VI of the Directorate General for Public and Cultural Diplomacy of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation actively participated in a session dedicated to the Italian archaeological Missions operating at UNESCO sites worldwide.

Together with Luca Peyronel, Full Professor of Archaeology and Art History of the Ancient Near East at the State University of Milan, Director of the Archaeological Mission in the Erbil Plain (Kurdistan Region of Iraq) and of the Italian Archaeological Project at Kültepe (Turkey), Dr. Andrea Balletta, Cultural Attaché at the DGDP – Office VI, moderated the event.

Within the venue of the splendid Sala della Limonaia, in front of an audience composed by specialists and the general public, five speeches were given in the morning by the Directors of Italian Missions supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, active in Tanzania, Jordan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan and Peru. All of these share the commitment to important sites, which, featuring different chronological and geographical areas, are registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

After extending the greetings to the audience from the Head of Office VI – DGDP, Embassy Counsellor Paolo Andrea Bartorelli, Dr. Balletta schematically described the activities of Office VI regarding the financing of Italian archaeological, ethnological and anthropological Missions operating abroad, the Italian cultural diplomacy strategies within UNESCO, and the potential of the Italian “archaeological presence” in the sites included in the UNESCO Heritage List (42 sites in 20 countries, not counting the high number of Missions in sites include in the Tentative List). Prof. Peyronel, after illustrating to the audience how the event was curated and organized, also underlined the importance of the strategic plans proposed by various Missions that can contribute to the inclusion of sites in the UNESCO List. Moreover, he stressed the need to carry out specific actions to raise awareness of the importance of the historical-archaeological heritage in local communities, according to the methods and practices of Public Archeology.

The first presentation, carried out by Prof. Marco Cherin (University of Perugia), co-director together with Prof. Giorgio Manzi (Sapienza University of Rome) of the project for the study, conservation and promotion of Plio-Pleistocene paleoanthropological sites in Tanzania (Olduvai and Laetoli), not only highlighted the complex of activities within the two paleoanthropological sites – the Ngorongoro Park has been on the UNESCO List since 1979/2010 – decisive for the understanding of the last three and a half million years of human evolution, but also illustrated the importance of the collaboration with the Tanzanian institutions, both for the training of students and for raising awareness among the local communities.

Prof. Michele Nucciotti (University of Florence) presented the activities of the Mission “Petra Medievale”, active since 1986 at the Unesco site of Petra (UNESCO site since 1985), and at the sites of the Crusader-Ayyubid and Mamluk times (XII-XV centuries) of Wu’ayra, al-Habis and Shawbak (Jordan). He explained the principles related to the so-called “community archeology” and “public archeology” that involve local, national, and international institutions and realities in development, promotion, and dissemination of the project, with the aim of encouraging also virtuous and non-mass cultural tourism.

After the break, a video was projected by Prof. Lorenzo Nigro (Sapienza University of Rome), Director of several and important excavations between the Near East and the Mediterranean, and active since 2021 at the site of Carthage (Tunisia, UNESCO site since 1979). Dr. Federico Cappella, field manager of the project, reiterated the importance of the collaboration between La Sapienza and the Institut National du Patrimoine for the promotion of the monuments discovered on the necropolis of Dermech, at the Baths of Antonino, and on the Colline de l’Odéon, from the Phoenician, Punic and Roman periods, and the training of Tunisian archaeologists.

Prof. Carlo Lippolis (University of Turin) illustrated the impact of the research activities in Nisa Partica (Turkmenistan, UNESCO site since 2007), which represents a key site for the knowledge and study of Parthian culture and “Ancient Central Asia”. In this case, the importance of the perception of archaeological research by local socio-political realities was emphasized together with the strategies for the preservation of cultural heritage from uncontrolled tendencies towards sensationalism or political exploitation.

Finally, Dr. Nicola Masini (Institute of Cultural Heritage Sciences – CNR) presented the most recent results and research perspectives of the CNR ITACA Mission at the sites of Nazca, Machu Picchu and Chankillo (Peru, Nazca and Chankillo are UNESCO sites from 1994 and 2021), characterized by an integrated and innovative use of geophysical surveys, field research, and data processing shared with local research institutions.

After the lunch break, in the auditorium, Prof. Peyronel, Dr. Balletta and Dr. Piero Pruneti, Director of Archeologia Viva and TourismA, introduced the speech by Prof. Marcella Frangipane (Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Sapienza University of Rome Foundation), former Director of the Mission in Arslantepe (Malatya, Turkey), included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2021, also thanks to the multi-year contribution of Italian research, always active in outreaching local realities on all levels .

Overall, the event, which took place in a relevant context for the promotion of cultural heritage studies aimed at the general public, highlighted how the promotion and protection of archaeological heritage represent powerful tools for “public and cultural diplomacy”, which can be fully integrated into the strategies of the Italian soft power. We thank the organizers for the space granted, hoping for an increasingly active participation of Office VI in future sessions on the discussed topics.