13 November. A public lecture was given by Dr Achala Moulik on cultural dialogues: how archaeological remains and monumental structures manifest exchanges of influences, and how culture paves the way for culture.

Dialogues of civilizations began when cultures expanded beyond the frontiers of their territories and engaged in trade, travel, the spread of religions and war. The vestiges of these interactions are similarities in style and form of archaeological remains and monumental architecture (churches, mosques, stupas, citadels, etc.) across a vast geographical expanse. By comparing buildings such as the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul and the church of San Marco in Venice, or the Taj Mahal with Persian architecture, we can see the fruits of these influences and the extensiveness of cultural cross- fertilization.

Dr Moulik is the former Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India, as well as a celebrated novelist and historian. The premise of the lecture was based on the book she co-authored with her late husband, Mohandas Moses, entitled Dialogue of Civilizations (William Jones and the Orientalists) (New Delhi, 2009).

Guests included colleagues from the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage as well Italian National Commission for UNESCO.

updated on: 13 November, 2009