“As Consul of Italy to Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan, I am proud and grateful for the activities our archeologists conduct on the field together with archeologists from the Kurdistan Region,” said Camerota during the press conference following the opening of the exhibition in Erbil’s Media Hall, which was also attended by the directors of the archeological missions and the directorates of antiquities of the Kurdistan Region, together with the Minister of Tourism and Municipalities Sasan Awni, and Governor of Erbil Omed Khoshnaw.
“As everyone knows, surely a distinctive trait of Italy’s presence in the Kurdistan Region, is that of our military contingent which works in very close contact with the Peshmerga, in the framework of the global coalition. However, as a diplomat, I am always glad to continue promoting the role of Italy as a ‘kind power,’” he added, stressing that what this entails is an intense promotion of cultural diplomacy.
Italy currently has 24 archeological missions in Iraq, 11 of which are in the Kurdistan Region. In recent months Italian Ambassador to Iraq Maurizio Greganti and Consul Camerota inaugurated the first archeological park in Iraq, in Faida and Khinis, in Duhok province. The project was implemented in collaboration with the University of Udine, with the financial support of the Italian Agency for Development (AICS), who also supported the opening of another archeological park in Nineveh, this time in collaboration with a team of archeologists from the University of Bologna.
“Here in Kurdistan and Iraq, and with this I conclude, we are particularly proud as Italy, to maintain the lead in the presence of archeological missions. This is the best example of cultural, scientific cooperation among parts, and we hence reaffirm our commitment to support these activities even in the future, even so that they can become a source of touristic attraction for cultural tourism,” Camerota said.
Relations between Italian archeologists and local authorities are particularly strong and reflective of a genuine desire for collaboration, according to Dr. Serenella Mancini, an Italian archeologist with ten years experience in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq and curator of the exhibition.
“Hospitality, which is a distinctive trait of the Kurdish people, is also reflected in the professional environment, characterized, at least with regard to the authorities responsible for cultural heritage, by a lively and sincere desire for collaboration and by a great willingness to deal together with any possible problems which, as in any job, may arise occasionally,” Mancini told Rudaw English.
“The welcome given to archeologists working in Kurdistan conveys a sincere desire to establish authentic and friendly relationships, and not simply working ones,” she added.
This hospitality, Mancini stressed, is not only limited to local authorities but also to local communities.
“All this is reflected also in the relationships that, over time, are established with local communities, always ready to welcome us and make us feel like an integral part of the reality in which we operate.”
This exhibition is only one of several cultural diplomacy efforts by the Italian consulate in Erbil. Earlier this month, Consul Camerota visited the Catholic University in Erbil to inaugurate the first-ever Italian language course in the Kurdistan Region.
In late 2023, the consulate also launched the first Italian cooking course in Erbil, organized in partnership with popular Italian restaurant Don Gennaro, targeting young local students in the tourism-hotel sector of the local Salahaddin University.
“We have been impressed by the level of participation and enthusiasm at the opening of the exhibition,” Camerota told Rudaw English. “This gives us a greater motivation to keep working to promote activities of mutual interest in the field of culture and protection of heritage, aimed to strengthen even further the solid friendly relations between our people.”
As one of the founding members of the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State, Italy contributes to the coalition’s mission diplomatically, militarily, and in terms of stabilization initiatives. Rome’s military contingent in the coalition in Iraq is among the largest present in the country and is particularly focused on training activities of Peshmerga forces as well as Iraqi counter terrorism forces and the Kurdistan Region’s special forces.
Militarily, Italy’s contribution to the coalition is organized around the pillars of defense capacity building, police training, and cultural heritage protection.
Archeology in fact, is not only a field Italy focuses on from a cultural diplomacy angle, but also from a security one, with Italian military police, Carabinieri, personnel from the Italian Task Force “Unite4Heritage” having trained units of both Iraq’s and the Kurdistan Region’s police forces as well as civilian employees in the protection of cultural heritage.
In collaboration with local authorities, the task force succeeded in identifying and arresting “individuals responsible for clandestine excavations and assisted in the seizure and delivery of smuggled items to the Nasiriyah Museum,” according to the coalition’s website.
Since 2003, the database for the identification and monitoring of stolen cultural property launched by the Italian Carabinieri has come to contain images and information about over 4,000 archeological artifacts that were stolen from Baghdad Museum.