Among the most important libraries with texts in oriental languages in Rome we can mention the Library of Oriental Studies of the "La Sapienza" University which belongs to the Department of the Italian Institute of Oriental Studies - ISO and boasts a considerable number of book collections, belonging to teachers who, since the establishment of the Oriental School (1904), they have alternated in the different teachings; the library also includes a Media Library, which mainly collects DVD films of oriental cinema, but also music CDs and other multimedia material. Also relevant is the Oriental Collection of the National Central Library, made up of four separate funds, which arrived at different times and in different ways, but which currently constitute an important and unique book heritage within Italian libraries: the Arabian fund, the Chinese fund, the Japanese fund and the Slavic fund. Finally, another conspicuous fund is made up of the Library of the Pontifical Oriental Institute, one of the most authoritative and large collections of the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Churches, which has more than 200,000 volumes.
As far as Cultural Institutes are concerned, we recall the PISAI - Pontifical Institute of Arabian and Islamic Studies, founded by the Missionaries of Africa Society (White Fathers) in 1926, which is a study and research center whose activities didactic and scientific prepare for an informed theological dialogue with Muslims. The training that PISAI has been dispensing for over 50 years, for the achievement of the Licentiate and Doctorate in Arabic and Islamic Studies, is based on the in-depth study of the Arabic language and Islamic sciences. PISAI includes a library of about 40,000 volumes. Also within the Near and Middle East, there is the Cultural Institute of Iran, active for over half a century as a representative of Iranian cultural institutions in promoting cultural and academic relations between the two nations, with the aim of deepening the development of their cultural and scientific relationships. The institute organizes Persian language courses and includes a library that boasts over 3,000 volumes, in particular texts of Persian language and literature. We also recall the ISAS - International Institute of South Asian Studies, which promotes the knowledge and enhancement of the cultural heritage of South Asia, India in particular. The institute organizes seminars, conferences, book presentations, art and photography exhibitions, film and documentary screenings, study trips, dance and music performances and courses in Southeast Asian languages.
Finally, we cannot fail to mention the Confucius Institute and the Japanese Institute of Culture. The first, established in Rome in 2006 thanks to the Department of the Italian Institute of Oriental Studies (ISO), in collaboration with the University of Foreign Languages of Beijing (BFSU) which was the first Confucius Institute founded in Italy and the second in Europe, with the aim of promoting cultural exchanges between the two countries and organizing cultural activities, conferences, exhibitions and shows. The Institute is the venue for the international HSK (Chinese Proficiency Test) and HSKK (HSK Speaking Test) linguistic proficiency exams.
The Japanese Institute of Culture, on the other hand, inaugurated in 1962 to promote Japanese culture in Italy, depends on The Japan Foundation in Tokyo. It organizes Japanese language courses divided into different levels (beginner, elementary, pre-intermediate, intermediate) whose final exam, (Nihongo Nôryoku Shiken) supervised by the Japan Foundation and the Association of International Education, issues a certificate of knowledge of the Japanese language officially recognized. The library houses over 32,000 volumes, more than one hundred active magazines, a collection of about 2,500 microfilms, a collection of traditional and modern Japanese music for learning the language.
Photo credits: courtesy of the Cultural Heritage official site online
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