The founder of the Centro Scavi di Torino, Giorgio Gullini, graduated at the University of Rome in 1944. He was Inspector in the Antiquities and Fine Arts Administration until 1952, and Director up to 1956, when he was awarded the chair in Archaeology and History of Greek and Roman Art at the University of Turin, held until 1998. In this University, he was Director of the Institute of Archaeology from 1958 to 1981, Head of the Department of Anthropological, Archaeological and Historical/Territorial Sciences, founded by him, until 1989, as well as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy from 1962 to 1972. He was also President of the Sector Committee for the Archaeological Heritage (National Council of Cultural Heritage) from 1976 to 1986 and Member of the National Council of Universities from 1979 to 1986. He was a national member of Turin’s Academy of Sciences and a correspondent member of Rome’s Accademia dei Lincei. One of the first aides of Giuseppe Tucci in the archaeological missions in Pakistan, in Afghanistan and in Iran, from 1955 to 1961 Giorgio Gullini took part in the exploration of the city of Udegram, anciently known as Ora, founded by Alexander the Great, in the Swat, of the Ghazni palace in Afghanistan and of the Kuh-i-Khwaja complex in Seistan (Iran). In 1963, together with Turin’s local government authorities and the University of Turin and with the support of the Cassa di Risparmio di Torino, Gullini promoted the creation of the Centro Ricerche Archeologiche e Scavi di Torino per il Medio Oriente e l’Asia, of which he was at first the Scientific Director and then the President, until 2004, the year in which he died. In these roles, he outlined, developed and directed the research conducted by Turin’s archaeological school in Iraq, Iran, Central Asia, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Tunisia, as well as in Italy, in Locri and Selinus. Gullini’s research focused on great issues of antiquity, considering the development of the great Mediterranean cultures from the 3rd millennium B.C. to the late antique period, as stages and aspects of an essentially homogeneous scenario. His vast body of studies includes over 100 works and articles in specialized journals and ranges from classical to eastern archaeology. In 1966, Gullini founded (and directed for many years) “Mesopotamia”, a Journal of Archaeology, Epigraphy and Ancient Eastern History, supplemented by monographs dedicated to specific topics and especially to the final reports of the Centro Scav's researches in Asia. In 1969 he founded the Iraqi-Italian Institute of Archaeological Sciences and the Iraqi-Italian Centre for the Restoration of Monuments, innovative instruments of a continuous joint cooperation with local authorities through the application of the most advanced technologies for the management of cultural heritage. With the same intent he also created, through international agreements, the Italian-Jordanian Institute of Archaeological Sciences in Amman and the Italian-Tunisian Institute of Cultural Heritage Science in Tunis, whose scope of activities extends to the entire Maghreb region. From the late 1960s, Gullini increasingly focused his attention on the contribution of physical, mathematical and natural sciences in the management of cultural heritage. He directed the CNR’s first Targeted Project “Science for Cultural Heritage” from 1978 until its end, and, in part, he contributed to the commencement of feasibility studies for the second project of the same name. As President of the Scientific Council, Gullini contributed to the organization and restructuring of the CNR’s “Institute of Technology Applied to Cultural Heritage”. In 1971 he received the Gold Medal for Scientific Achievements in Culture and the Arts.

Alumnus of Giorgio Gullini, Antonio Invernizzi graduated at the University of Turin in 1963. He was Assistant Professor of Greek and Roman Archaeology and History of Art at the University of Cagliari in years 1967-1969. In 1970 he was awarded the chair in Near Eastern Archaeology at the University of Turin, held until 2008. He was Scientific Director of the Centro Scavi since 1990 and President of the same institution in years 2007-2010. Since 2009 he is Professor Emeritus of the University of Turin. He is a national member of the Accademia delle Scienze of Turin. His researches on the field range from Iraq to Central Asia. In years 1968-1976 he was field director of the Italian Archaeological Mission at Seleucia on the Tigris (Iraq). He was then Director of the archaeological survey in the Atrek valley in Khorasan, Iran (1975-1976), of the excavations in the Hamrin basin and the Roman fortress of Kifrin, Iraq (1977-1983), and of the excavations in Parthian Nisa, Turkmenistan (1990-2003). He has been a member of the editorial board of the journal Mesopotamia since its foundation, being in charge as director from 2004 up to 2010. In 1999 he founded the journal Parthica. Incontri di culture nel mondo antico, and directed it until 2012. He is Director of the series Mnème, which he founded in 2001 together with Giorgio Gullini. His huge scientific production includes Mesopotamia, Iran and Central Asia, being mainly focused on the various aspects of the intercultural encounters and exchanges in Hellenized Asia. Besides the seminal contributions on archaeology and history of arts, in the last years his sphere of interests has been expanding towards a new research branch, with the publication of documents and reports of journeys of the first European travellers through Asia.