Abstract

This essay, which is the enlarged version of a lecture given in October 2004 at the Conference organized by the University of Pavia for commemorating Giorgio Borsa, outlines the contribution of the Italian scholar to the development of Afro-Asiatic studies, setting his disciplinary achievements within the wider context of contemporary historiography. Through the analysis of Borsa’s work the author focuses on some significant moments of the evolution of Italian studies on modern and contemporary Asia, which reflect the stages both of the actual historical process and the renewal of the philosophical presuppositions, methods and contents of historical research, showing their relevance to a deeper understanding of the general history of Italian historiography