In memory of Domenico Faccenna (Castel Madama 1923 - Rome 2008)

Abstract

On October 15, 2008 a great scholar and a real gentleman, Domenico Faccenna, passed away, to whom the scientific community owes broad and fundamental contributions, among which, the first consistent and extensive archaeological approach to the vexata quaestio of the origin and development of Gandharan art. Those like me who had the chance to work with him and share with him the harshness and zest of fieldwork in a faraway country owe even more to Domenico Faccenna, not only in terms of professional development but also in terms of human experience.
It is difficult to me to separate the scholar from the generous mentor, the severe boss, the paternal friend. I shall not even try to do it. When the editors of this periodical asked me for some pages to dedicate to him, I gratefully agreed, pushed more by my personal feelings than by a clear intention or real capability. I apologise in advance to the readers for presenting here a portrait of Domenico Faccenna submerged in the emotional flow of memories, memories that are intertwined by now with half of my life, but I am confident that, in due time, more precise and systematic biographies will pay him a more objective and comprehensive tribute. . . .