MONTESI, Giancarlo. 1928 — 1983. Italian Scholar of Religion. Ph.D. 1954 Rome, under Pettazzoni. Worked at La Sapienzà teaching comparative religion. Publications: Diss. Tamas – Usas – Rtà. [1954]. – “II valore cosmico dell’Aurora nel pensiero mitologico del Rig-Veda”, Studi e materiali per la storia delle religioni 24-25, 1953-54, 111-132; “Uṣāsānaktā. Mitologia vedica della notte”, Studi…
TUCCI, Giuseppe Vincenzo. Macerata 5.6.1894 — S. Polo de’ Cavalieri near Rome 5.4.1984. Italian Indologist, Sinologist and Tibetan Scholar. Professor in Rome. Born in a middle-class family, son of Oscar T. and Ermengilda Firmani. Learned Latin and Greek at school and privately some Sanskrit. Studied at Rome (originally Latin, soon Sanskrit and…
PETTAZZONI, Raffaele. San Giovanni, Persiceto, near Bologna 3.2.1883 — Rome 8.12.1959. Italian Scholar of Comparative Religion. Professor in Rome. Son of Cesare P. and Maria Luigia Minezzi. Studies of archaeology, etc. at Bologna and Rome. Ph.D. 1905 Bologna. From 1909 worked at Sardinian Department of Antiquities in Museo preistorico ed…
PAGLIARO, Antonino. Mistretta, Messina 1.1.1898 — ibid. 6.12.1973. Italian Classical and Iranian Scholar, Exegete, and Philosopher of Language. Professor in Rome. After school in Mistretta studies at Palermo and Frorence, then further studies 1922-24 at Heidelberg (Bartholomae) and 1925 at Vienna (Kretschmer). From 1926 PD, 1927 Professor of Iranian Linguistics and…
MESSINA, Giuseppe. San Cataldo, Sicily 6.1.1893 — Messina 28.6.1951. Father. S.J. Italo-French Scholar of Iranian and of History of Religion. Born near Caltanisetta in Sicily. Joined the Jesuits and studied philosophy in France and theology in the Netherlands, ordained priest in 1922. Then studied Iranian philology in Rome (Pontifical Biblical Institute,…
LIGNANA, Giacomo. Tronzano Vercellese, Piemonte 19.12.1827 (hardly 1830) — Rome 10.2.1891 (or 10.1. or 10.12.). Italian Linguist and Indologist. Professor in Naples and Rome. Born in Piemonte, son of Giuseppe L. and Margherita Lebbole. Studies at Turin, then 1848-49 under Lassen at Bonn and Spiegel at Erlangen. For while taught…
BIANCHI, Ugo. Cavriglia, Arezzo 13.10.1922 — Firenzuola, Florence 14.4.1995. Italian Scholar of Iranian Religion. Grew up in Rome. Studies of classical philology, ancient history and especially History of Religions at Sapienza in Rome under Pettazzoni. Ph.D. 1944. In 1952-56 member of Istituto italiano per la storia antica in Rome, also…
BAUSANI, Alessandro. Rome 29.5.1921 — Rome 11.3.1988. Italian Orientalist (Persian Scholar). Grew up in a stricly religious Catholic family, educated in Rome. Studies in Rome, graduated 1943. Ph.D. From 1944 incaricato di lingua e letteratura persiana, Università di Roma, 1951-56 lettore ordinario; 1956-71 prof. di lingua e letteratura persiana, I.U.O.N.…
BALLINI, Ambrogio. Asola (near Mantova) 19.7.1879 — 20.3.1950. Italian Indologist, especially Jaina Scholar. Professor in Padua, Milano and Rome. Studied at the university of Bologna, interested soon in Sanskrit (under Formichi), but also acquainted himself with Greek and Latin. Further studies in Germany (at Bonn under Jacobi), at Padua (Teza)…