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On 15th October 2008 one of the first representatives of Italian archaeology in Asia passed away in Rome. Born to science in the field of Classical archaeology, he carried out most of his scientific activity in Pakistan, where the Classical heritage that is so strong in the Buddhist art of Gandhara had attracted him in the mid 'nineteen- fifties. With a unique competence in both fields, his biography moves along these two lines: and the more than 150 friends who signed the Tabula Gratulatoria on the occasion of his 80th birthday, belong both to Oriental and Classical studies. However, the great undertaking by Domenico Faccenna was the IsMEO -IsIAO archaeological mission in Swat, which Giuseppe Tucci entrusted to him and that he was able to nourish and develop with the constant care of a loving father. He must therefore be remembered by his words as well as by his deeds, in which the many persons quoted in this memorial were led to take part with enthusiasm by his friendly but authoritative personality.
Domenico Faccenna was born at Castel Madama, a village near Tivoli (Rome), on the 25th November 1923. He completed high school in Tivoli, assisted by the scholarly care of Attilio Rossi, a high ranking official of the Ministry of Education who may be remembered for the restoration of Villa d'Esté and whose house at Castel Madama contained an impressive library. Faccenna then moved to the University of Rome, where he graduated in Classical Archaeology in 1946, with a dissertation on Methodology in the Study of Alexandrine Hellenistic Art (tutor Prof. Giulio Quirino Giglio li). From 1947 to 1952 he was Voluntary Assistant to the Chair of Classical Archaeology at the University of Rome. In 1948, rather than confirming his association with the University, he preferred to join the archaeological staff of the 'Superintendency of Antiquities for Rome and Latium', where in 1953 he was appointed Archaeologist Inspector, a position which he held until 1958: in his strong feeling for the State service, he preferred to be an officer of the Superintendency, as a representative of the institution rather than an individual scholar. He maintained excellent relations with his University colleagues, although he considered academics too exposed to personal ambition.
While at the...