Special collections

Borrmans Collection
Maurice Borrmans, M.Afr. (1925-2017) dedicated much of his life to the study of Arabic and Islam, with a particular interest in Islamic law. From 1964 to 2004 he taught at PISAI, during which time he founded the journal Islamochristiana and directed it from 1975 until 2004.
The Borrmans collection includes about 1000 titles on a wide range of material, but particularly concerned with interreligious dialogue and knowledge of Islam. In addition to works on Islamic philosophy, law, spirituality and Sufism, texts on geopolitics and sociology of religions, a large part of the collection concerns important figures in the history of Muslim-Christian dialogue: Charles de Foucauld, Louis Massignon, Andrea Santoro, Pietro Rossano and others; many texts are dedicated to the spirituality of religions, with particular attention to prayer, mysticism and sacred texts. A section of the collection includes Qur’anic and Biblical texts, with various translations and commentaries, studies of linguistics and literature, and Arabic grammars.
In recognition of Maurice Borrmans’ years-long commitment to PISAI and as a sign of affection for him, the Library of the Institute was dedicated to his memory on 17 February 2018.

Basso Collection
The Lelio and Leslie Basso Foundation came into being in Rome in 1973, the result of the amalgamation of the rich private library of Lelio Basso, a collection brought together during the time of his political and cultural activities, and the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Society created in the second half of the 1960s. The collection specializes in the study of historical, juridical, political and sociological sciences, with particular attention being given to the sources.
The collection contains books and periodicals in Arabic concerning the history of modern and contemporary political thought and that of the migrations of peoples, especially in the North African region.

Cerbella Collection
The collection contains some 500 titles of great interest for orientalist and ethnographic research regarding the situation in Africa during the colonial period, especially in Libya and Ethiopia; it deals with the direct personal reports of the researcher whose field of interest lay in the traditions and customs of the region, as well as the anthropology and the cultural and religious development of the colonial and post-colonial period. The collection is also enhanced with numerous extracts from articles, documents and correspondence, as well as manuscripts of this scholarly researcher.

Faragalla Collection
The collection, containing more than 200 most useful books for the study of Arabic literature and the history of religions, was given to PISAI by the two brothers of Prof. Sameh Faragalla, Sarwat and Michel.
Of Egyptian origin, Professor Sameh Faragalla, lecturer in Arabic at La Sapienza University in Rome, taught at PISAI from 1979 to 2009, devoting himself to presenting and analysing the Arabic press and to the study of recorded texts used by the Institute as a valid teaching tool. The academic guidance he gave and the quality of his presence were greatly appreciated by the students of PISAI.

Horsten Collection
The Horsten Collection reflects the research and the areas of interest of Fr. Piet Horsten, M.Afr. (1936-2018), who was a member of the teaching staff of PISAI and where he also held the office of Chief Librarian.
After completing his studies for the priesthood, Piet Horsten studied Ancient Greek and Latin at the University of Nijmegen, enriching this classical base with general notions of linguistics and a theological approach to cultures and religions. He obtained a doctorate from the SOAS University of London in 1978 with a concentration in linguistic anthropology. His studies led him to develop a deeper interest in translation, especially the translation of the Bible from Greek into Latin and subsequently to a broader study of the relation between religions and languages.