Introduzione/Introduction

In 1960, the Director General of UNESCO, Vittorino Veronese, solicited by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, Tharwat Okasha, launched an appeal to the nations for rescuing the monuments of Nubia: this originated the memorable campaign, which ideally united many countries, in order to preserve a great cultural heritage for the whole of humanity. On that occasion, Italy was in the front line, with all its cultural and technical background in the preservation of cultural heritage. The monuments of Philae were dismantled and transported to a higher island, Agilkia, in the great joint project between Italy and Egypt, following the project proposal drawn up by Consortium of Consulting Engineers & Architects Cairo and carried out by the Italian society Condotte-Mazzi Estero, a society that was created for specifically for the purpose.