OROFINO Giacomella

Full Professor of Tibetan Language and Literature and of Civilisations and Religions of India and Tibet
University of Naples “L’Orientale” — Department of Asian, African and Mediterranean Studies — Indology and Tibetology (ASIA-01/C)
ORCID 0000-0002-8328-7259 · unifind.unior.it/get/person/000791 · unior.academia.edu/GIACOMELLAOROFINO
EDUCATION
1985 Diploma di Perfezionamento (Doctorate) in Oriental Studies, School of Oriental Studies, Faculty of Letters and Philosophy, Sapienza University of Rome, 70/70 cum laude; supervisor: Prof. Luciano Petech.
1982 Laurea in Oriental Languages and Civilisations, cum laude, Istituto Universitario Orientale, Naples; supervisors: Prof. Namkhai Norbu and Prof. Gherardo Gnoli.
QUALIFICATIONS
2013 National Scientific Qualification (Abilitazione Scientifica Nazionale) as Full Professor, Cultures of Central and East Asia (10/N3), obtained in the first national round (DD no. 222/2012).
1998 Winner of the national competition for Associate Professor in Indology and Tibetology (L-OR/18).
ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL CAREER
2017– Full Professor of Tibetan Language and Literature and of Civilisations and Religions of India and Tibet, University of Naples “L’Orientale” (UNIOR).
1998–2017 Associate Professor of Tibetan Language and Literature and of Civilisations and Religions of India and Tibet, UNIOR.
1995–1998 Adjunct Professor of Tibetology, Istituto Universitario Orientale, Naples.
1993–1995 Adjunct Professor of Tibetology, Sapienza University of Rome.
1990–1996 Research Fellow, Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente (IsMEO), Rome.
1983–1991 Teacher of English Language and Literature, Italian state secondary schools.
DIRECTION OF RESEARCH CENTRES AND SCHOLARLY ASSOCIATIONS
2017– Founding member and President, Italian Association for Tibetan, Himalayan and Mongolian Studies (AISTHiM).
2006– President, Centre for Buddhist Studies, UNIOR.
2000 Founding member, Centre for Buddhist Studies, UNIOR.
1988–2012 Board member of the NGO ASIA (Association for International Solidarity in Asia), Rome, with cultural and educational cooperation projects in Tibetan areas (including the Tibetan primary school of Khri ka’i Stong che, Amdo).
MEMBERSHIP OF SCHOLARLY SOCIETIES
2012 ISMEO – International Association for Mediterranean and Oriental Studies.
1995 International Association of Buddhist Studies (IABS).
1992 International Association for Tibetan Studies (IATS).
1990 Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente (IsMEO; from 1995 IsIAO), Rome.
1988 Founding member, Association for International Solidarity in Asia (ASIA), Rome.
EDITORIAL AND PEER-REVIEW ACTIVITY
2026– Member of the Scientific Committee of the book series “Studi”, Centro Studi of the Italian Buddhist Union, published by Ubiliber.
2009 Member of the Board of Reviewers, International Buddhist Literary Heritage Project – Translating the Word of the Buddha (Bir / Sarnath / Washington DC / Tokyo).
2004–2010 Reviewer for the Italian national research assessment (VQR), panel GEV 10 (Antiquity, Philology, Literary Studies and Art History).
Anonymous referee for peer-reviewed journals and publishers: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften; Revue d’Études Tibétaines; Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies; The Tibet Journal; Annali. Sezione Orientale (UNIOR); Rivista di Studi Sudasiatici (Sapienza University of Rome); Civiltà e Religioni.
INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
2023– Representative of Full Professors, Council of the Department of Asian, African and Mediterranean Studies (DAAM).
2019–2022 Department delegate for Public Engagement (Third Mission).
2017–2019 Chair of the Joint Student–Faculty Committee, UNIOR.
2012–2016 Coordinator of the PhD Programme in South and East Asian Studies.
2012–2016 Member of the UNIOR Academic Senate, representing the Associate Professors of the Department of Asian, African and Mediterranean Studies.
2009–2012 Chair of the Teaching Area Board in Oriental and African Studies (Faculties of Letters and Philosophy and of Arabic-Islamic and Mediterranean Studies).
2007–2009 Chair of the Teaching Area Board in Asian and African Studies, Faculty of Letters and Philosophy.
2003–2007 Coordinator of the MA programme in Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa.
2002–2005 Delegate for International Relations, Faculty of Letters.
2001–2012 Member of the Faculty Board of the PhD Programme in South and East Asian Studies.
2000–2005 Member of the Council of the Department of Asian Studies, UNIOR.
TEACHING
Courses at UNIOR
Tibetan Language I, II, IV and V; Tibetan Literature I, IV and V; Indo-Tibetan Civilisations and Religions; History and Cultures of Tibet and the Himalayan Countries; Tibetan Cultural Heritage in the Global World. Earlier courses: Civilisations and Religions of India and Tibet; Tibetan Philology (MA).
Teaching abroad
2026 (16–20 June) Erasmus Teaching Mobility, Universität Wien (Institut für Südasien-, Tibet- und Buddhismuskunde).
2019 (3–8 June) Erasmus Guest Professor (8 hours): lecture series on “Tibetan Religious Traditions”, University of Warsaw (Department of Oriental Studies).
2018 (18–24 November) Lecture series (12 hours) in the programme “World Famous Scholars Lecturing at Minzu University of China”, Beijing.
2017 (19–24 June) Erasmus Guest Professor (8 hours): “Hagiographies of Two Saint Women in 11th-cent. Tibet: Ma gcig Lab sgron and Ma gcig Zha ma”, Universität Wien.
2014 (9–14 June) Erasmus Guest Professor (8 hours): “The Kālacakratantra Literature: Origins and Developments”, Universität Wien.
2013 (20 June – 20 July) Visiting Professor (20-hour course): “The Bon Religion of Tibet”, University of Tartu (Estonian and Comparative Folklore), Estonia.
2011 (23–27 November) Erasmus Guest Professor (8 hours): “Towards a Definition of the Bon Religion of Tibet”, SOAS, Department of Religious Studies, London.
2010 (10 June – 12 July) Visiting Professor (30-hour course): “The History of Tibetan and Buddhist Studies in Italy and Europe in the 19th–20th Centuries”, Minzu University of China, Beijing.
2009 (20 June – 15 July) Visiting Professor (36-hour course): “The History of Indian Esoteric Buddhism: The Origins of the Buddhist Tantric Movement”, Rangjung Yeshe Institute, University of Kathmandu.
2009 (2–6 June) Erasmus Guest Professor (8 hours): “The Gcod Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism”, Universität Wien.
2002 (3–9 April) Erasmus Guest Professor (8 hours): “The History of the Gter ma Tradition in Tibet”, SOAS, Department of Religious Studies, London.
1997 (7–25 November) Invited Guest Lectures (20-hour course): “Tibet and the Mongols”, Centre for Advanced Study, Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, University of Oslo.
CONFERENCE PAPERS AND INVITED LECTURES
2026 (23–29 August) Invited speaker, panel “Tibetan Yoga. Lost and Found in Translation”, Congress of the International Association for Tibetan Studies (IATS), Kathmandu.
2026 (18 June) “Vajrayāna Inner Alchemy and the Emergence of Haṭhayoga in Tibet”, guest lecture, Institut für Südasien-, Tibet- und Buddhismuskunde, Universität Wien.
2026 (21 May) “Inner Alchemy and the Attainment of Immortality: Doctrinal and Metaphorical Parallels in the Amṛtasiddhi and the Kālacakratantra”, international conference “Across Texts and Traditions: A Memorial Conference for Raniero Gnoli”, UNIOR and ISMEO, Naples.
2025 (29 September) “The Dawn of Physical Yoga”, book presentation (respondent: Jason Birch), SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies, SOAS University of London.
2025 (10 August) “The Alchemical Metaphors in the Paramākṣarajñānasiddhi and the Realization of Supreme Unmoving Wisdom”, 20th IABS Congress, Universität Leipzig (10–15 August).
2024 (24 October) “India, Tibet, Ceylon nei racconti di Marco Polo”, International Antonio Feltrinelli Conference “Marco Polo 1324–2024. La via dell’Oriente e … dell’America”, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome (23–25 October).
2024 (30 May) “The Attainment of Immortality (Amṛtasiddhi) and the Origin of Physical Yoga in the Indo-Tibetan Tradition”, International Institute for Asian Studies, Leiden University.
2024 (22 February) Book presentation and lecture, The Asiatic Society of Mumbai and Italian Cultural Institute, Mumbai.
2022 (18 August) “The Yoga of Light: Visionary Yoga in Late Indian Buddhist Sources and in the Tibetan Heterodox Traditions”, 19th IABS Congress, Seoul National University.
2022 (30–31 May) “Visionary Encounters with Luminous and Empty Forms in Indian and Tibetan Buddhist Tantric Traditions”, Ho Center for Buddhist Studies, Stanford University.
2022 (12 March) “When Heterodoxy Transcends All Limits. The Teaching of the Contemporary Master Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche in Tibet and in the West”, International Conference on Dharma Today, Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, Venice.
2020 (6 November) “Images of Buddha (buddhabimba), Images of Emptiness (śūnyabimba). On the Metaphysics of Light in the Indian and Tibetan Esoteric Buddhist Literature of the 11th–12th cent.”, Toshi Award Symposium, Center for Buddhist Studies, University of California, Berkeley.
2019 (7–13 July) “At the End of an Era. The Forgotten Story of ’Jam dbyangs Mkhyen brtse Chos kyi dbang phyug”, panel “Non-sectarianism (ris med) in 19th- and 20th-Century Eastern Tibet”, 15th IATS Congress, INALCO, Paris.
2018 (22 November) “The History of the Tibetan Book of the Dead”, Department of Tibetan Studies, Minzu University, Beijing.
2018 (21 November) “Visionary Yoga in the Tibetan Esoteric Tantric Traditions”, Department of Tibetan Studies, Minzu University, Beijing.
2018 (20 November) “The Gcod Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism”, Department of Tibetan Studies, Minzu University, Beijing.
2018 (19 November) “Treasures of Words. The Great Heritage of the Tibetan Literary Traditions”, Department of Tibetan Studies, Minzu University, Beijing.
2018 (22 June) “Observations on an Origin Myth Found in a Tibetan Bon Magical Ritual”, First International Academic Seminar on Lhasa, Ngari, Shang Shung Culture of China’s Tibet, Lhasa University (20–28 June).
2017 (23 June) “The Metaphysics of Light in the Tibetan Books of the Dead. Some Considerations on their Origins”, Institut für Südasien-, Tibet- und Buddhismuskunde, Universität Wien.
2017 (11 April) “Lhasa. La terra degli dèi nel buddhismo tibetano”, Fondazione Collegio San Carlo, Modena.
2016 (4 October) “Tesori di parole. Il grande patrimonio letterario del Tibet”, Department of Philosophy, University of Perugia.
2016 (29 January) “Eros and Thanatos in Tibetan Buddhist Esoterism”, invited lecture, INALCO, Paris.
2015 (16 October) “Cosmogonic Myths in the Tibetan Bon Rituals”, Kyoto Lectures, Italian School of East Asian Studies / EFEO, Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University.
2015 (30 January) “Strategie di legittimazione religiosa e modelli di costruzione dell’identità in alcuni testi canonici della tradizione Bon tibetana”, PhD lectures, UNIOR.
2015 (21 January) “A Note on Two Theogonic Myths Found in a Bon Magic Ritual Tradition”, invited guest lecture, Dept. of Indian and Tibetan Studies, University of Hamburg.
2014 (13 June) “Islam as the Other in the Kālacakratantra Literature”, invited guest lecture, Institut für Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde, Universität Wien.
2014 (12 February) “The Tibetan Cultural Heritage in a Comparative Perspective”, invited guest lecture, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife.
2013 (15 December) “Cavalieri del vento. Identità tibetane, quale futuro?”, PhD lectures “Questioni di identità in Asia”, UNIOR.
2011 (25 November) “Greek Tricksters, Tibetan Witty Ministers and Enigmatic Metaphors in Ancient Eurasian Oral Literature”, invited guest lecture, Centre of Tibetan and Himalayan Studies, SOAS, London.
2011 (20–25 June) “The Blazing Water (dbal chu) Rite of Protection and Prosperity of the Tibetan Bon Tradition”, 16th IABS Congress, Dharma Drum Buddhist College, Taiwan.
2011 (14 April) “Gli dei terribili del Tibet”, seminar “Il mostruoso, l’osceno e il terrifico nella dimensione del sacro”, Department of Asian Studies, UNIOR.
2011 (2 February) “A Brief Survey of the Most Recent Translations of the Buddhist Tengyur into Italian”, Tengyur Translation Conference, American Institute of Buddhist Studies (Columbia University) and Central University of Tibetan Studies, Sarnath.
2010 (22–28 August) “The Figure of Nyi chos bzang po in Tibetan Oral Literature”, 12th IATS Congress, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
2009 (9 December) “Agape, caritas e compassione nella letteratura buddhista tibetana”, conference “La visione dell’Altro”, Istituto Superiore di Scienze Religiose, Capua.
2009 (24 March) “Mnemotecniche visuali nell’antica medicina tibetana”, conference “L’insegnamento delle Technai nelle culture antiche”, Archaeological Museum, Herculaneum.
2009 (11 March) “La Cina e la questione tibetana”, PhD lectures, University of Salerno.
2009 (10 February) “The Voice and Spirituality in Tibetan Buddhism”, invited guest lecture, Asia Society, New York.
2008 (3 November) “The Perspectives of the Tibetan Minorities in the PRC. Problems and Solutions”, invited guest lecture, University of Oslo.
2007 (22 February) “Visioni dell’aldilà nella Divina Commedia e nel Libro tibetano dei morti”, PhD lectures “Lecturae Dantis”, UNIOR.
2006 (26 August – 2 September) “The Later Transmission of Pha Dampa Sangs rgyas”, 11th Congress of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Seminar for Central Asian Studies, Universität Bonn.
2005 (28 March) “El Encuentro del Budismo con la cultura europea”, “Budismo y mundo contemporáneo”, Universitat Ramon Llull, Barcelona.
2004 (4–12 December) “Della traduzione. Approcci e questioni inerenti al tradurre testi buddhisti dalle lingue orientali” (discussant), Fourth Peace Publishing Fair, Fondazione Venezia per la Ricerca sulla Pace.
2003 (7 October) “La cura del fuoco attraverso il fuoco. La liberazione dalle passioni nel buddhismo tibetano”, seminar “Passioni d’Oriente. Eros ed emozioni nelle civiltà asiatiche”, Sapienza University of Rome.
2003 (6–12 September) “From Archaeological Discovery to Text Analysis: the Khor chags Monastery Findings – Temples, Library and Text”, 10th Congress of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, University of Oxford.
2003 (25 May) “Osservazioni sul Libro tibetano dei morti”, conference “Homo Moriens: una vita oltre la vita?”, University of Parma.
2001 (30 October) “L’aspetto femminile del divino nel buddhismo tibetano”, Department of Philosophy, University of Rome.
2000 (24–30 June) “The Tibetan Primary School of Khri ka’i Stong che. A Case Study on an Italian Non-Governmental Organisation”, 9th IATS Congress, Universiteit Leiden.
1999 (7 November) “I Centomila Canti degli Antichi (rNying ma rgyud ’bum)”, Incontri Orientalistici 1999, Istituto Venezia e l’Oriente, Fondazione Cini, Venice.
1998 (15 May) “Uomo e natura in Tibet”, seminar “Uomo e Natura verso il nuovo millennio”, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, Venice.
1996 (7 April) “The Origin of Kālacakra Literature”, Seminar on Hindu and Buddhist Tantra in India, Center for South Asian Studies, University of Virginia.
1995 (18–24 June) “Apropos of Some Foreign Elements in the Kālacakratantra”, 7th Congress of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Schloss Seggau, Graz.
1992 (9 November) “On a Note by Alexandre Csoma de Kőrös Concerning the Origins of the Kālacakratantra System”, International Conference on Alexandre Csoma de Kőrös, Hungarian Academy, Rome.
1992 (21–28 August) “Mirror Divination in Tibet”, 6th Congress of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Fagernes, Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture, University of Oslo.
ORGANISATION OF CONFERENCES AND ACADEMIC EVENTS
2026 (21–22 May) Co-convenor (with Francesco Sferra) of the international conference “Across Texts and Traditions: A Memorial Conference for Raniero Gnoli”, University of Naples “L’Orientale” and ISMEO, Naples.
2024 (14–16 October) Convenor of the international seminar “Beyond Borders. Tracing the Historical Dynamics and Transmission Models of Buddhism in Asian Contexts”, DAAM, UNIOR.
2017 (12–15 September) Convenor of the First Conference of the Italian Association for Tibetan, Himalayan and Mongolian Studies (AISTHiM), School of Advanced Studies, Procida (Naples).
2016 (2–3 December) Convenor of the seminar “Contemporanea/MENTE”, a dialogue between neuroscience, quantum physics, psychology, and Western and Buddhist philosophy, Centre for Buddhist Studies, UNIOR.
2013 (5–6 November) Organiser (with Amneris Roselli and Antonella Sannino) of the seminar “Elisir mercuriali e immortalità. Capitoli per una storia dell’alchimia nell’antica Eurasia” (Mercurial Elixirs and Immortality), UNIOR.
2011 (Feb.-June) Organiser (with Michele Bernardini and Riccardo Palmisciano) of the lecture series “Il mostruoso, l’osceno e il terrifico nella dimensione del sacro” (The Monstrous, the Obscene and the Terrifying in the Sacred), Department of Asian Studies, UNIOR.
2010 (8–9 May) Conference “Buddhismo e Psicoanalisi” (Buddhism and Psychoanalysis), Centre for Buddhist Studies, UNIOR.
2007 (21 Nov.) Organiser of the seminar “Buddhismo e Diritti Umani: il caso della Birmania” (Buddhism and Human Rights: the Case of Burma), Centre for Buddhist Studies, UNIOR.
2007 (18–22 June) Organiser of the international seminar “Protection and Recovery of Traditional Architectural Techniques in Tibet”, with ASIA Onlus, the Tibet Heritage Fund, CICSENE, the Politecnico di Torino and the Istituto Centrale del Restauro, Rome.
2006 (1 Sept.) Organiser of the panel “Origin and Developments of the Zhi byed and Gcod Traditions in the Cultural History of Tibet”, 11th IATS Congress, Universität Bonn.
2004 (June) Organiser of the Second Conference of Buddhist Studies “Buddhist Asia 2”, Centre for Buddhist Studies, UNIOR.
2001 (May) Organiser of the First Naples Conference of Buddhist Studies, Centre for Buddhist Studies, UNIOR.
1999 (29 Aug. – 3 Sept.) Organiser of the panel “The Buddhist Tantras”, 12th Congress of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Université de Lausanne.
RESEARCH PROJECTS
International projects
2025–2026 Participant in the project “Metaphors of Religion”, CERES, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany.
2009–2013 Participant in the project “Buddhism and the Medieval Religious Traditions of China / Tibet / India”, Centre de Recherches sur les Civilisations de l’Asie Orientale (CRCAO, CNRS/EPHE); PI: Christine Mollier (CNRS) e Matthew Kapstein (EPHE / University of Chicago).
2008–2010 Participant in the project “Survey of Bonpo and rNying ma Monasteries and Cloisters in Eastern Tibet”, in collaboration with the Department of Tibetan Studies, Minzu University of China, Beijing.
2007–2009 Participant in the project “The Literature of the Heterodox Traditions of Tibetan Buddhism”, in collaboration with the Centre of Buddhist Studies, University of Kathmandu.
National and university projects
2022 Principal Investigator of the departmental project “Models and Dynamics of Transmission of Buddhism in Asia”, DAAM, UNIOR.
2016 Director of the departmental project “Toward a Conceptual History of the Tibetan Book of the Dead”, DAAM, UNIOR.
2014–2015 Director of the departmental project “Theogonic and Cosmogonic Myths of the Tibetan Bon Tradition”, DAAM, UNIOR.
2013 Director of the departmental project “Eros and Thanatos in Esoteric Buddhist Tantras”, DAAM, UNIOR.
2006–2008 Participant in the national research project (PRIN) “Philology and Lexicography of Indian, Iranian and Tibetan Buddhist Texts” (dir. Carlo Cereti; UNIOR unit dir. Mauro Maggi).
2005–2008 Director of the departmental project “The Heterodox Traditions of Tibetan Buddhism”, Department of Asian Studies, UNIOR.
2001–2004 Member of the national research project (PRIN) “The ‘Journey’ as a Narrative Theme in the Medieval Literatures of the East” (dir. Antonio Pioletti; UNIOR unit dir. Giovanni d’Erme).
DOCTORAL SUPERVISION
2026– Caterina Berliri (National PhD Programme in Religious Studies, DREST, 42nd cycle): Buddhism in “Greater Kaśmīr” around the Year 1000: Texts, Painted Stūpas, and Inscriptions in the Western Himalayan Corridor.
2025– Francesco Morgese (National PhD Programme in Religious Studies, DREST, 41st cycle), joint supervision with Ruhr-Universität Bochum (co-supervisor: Prof. Carmen Meinert): Overcoming Denominational Boundaries: Intertraditional Dialogue and Doctrinal Innovation in the Works of ’Jigs med bstan pa’i nyi ma (1865–1926).
2024– Matteo Perifano (National PhD Programme in Religious Studies, DREST, 40th cycle), joint supervision with Universität Wien (co-supervisor: Prof. Jim Rheingans): The Guhyasamāja Tradition of Mar pa: History, Doctrine, and Controversies of One of the Two Main Tibetan Lineages of the Guhyasamāja, from Nāropā to Tsong kha pa.
2024– Marta Bianco (PhD, DAAM, 40th cycle): Estetica del paesaggio e linguaggio poetico nella poesia tibetana in lingua cinese.
2022–2026 Phuntsok Namgyal (National PhD Programme in Religious Studies, DREST, 38th cycle), joint supervision with Prof. Charles Ramble (EPHE, Paris): The Historical and Literary Development of Exercising Channels and Winds (rTsa rlung ’phrul ’khor) in the Context of Bon rDzogs chen and Tantra.
2021–2024 Luigi Rogora (PhD, DAAM, 37th cycle): Qui su Jambudvīpa. La geografia nella letteratura buddhista tibetana sul Nepal (now at the Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Berlin).
2020–2023 Atisha Mathur (PhD, DAAM, 36th cycle): Madhyamaka through Jayānanda’s Lens. Philosophical Developments in 12th-Century Tibet.
2012–2015 Valentina Punzi (Joint PhD Minzu University of China / UNIOR): The Three Brothers of Amye Drakar. Sacralized Landscape and Local Identities in Southeast Amdo.
2011–2014 Carmen Simioli (UNIOR): L’elisir mercuriale e la trasmutazione dei metalli nell’alchimia e nella letteratura medica tibetana dal IX al XVI secolo.
2006–2009 Clara Rossetti (UNIOR): La fondazione storica dell’identità religiosa del Tibet. Studio delle fonti di legittimazione a partire dalla tradizione Bon.
2003–2006 Valeria Donati (UNIOR): The Lamp is Burning Bright. Gnoseological Approaches and Soteriological Perspectives in Gnubs Chen Sangs rgyas Ye shes’ Masterpiece.
2002–2005 Mara Matta (UNIOR): Rappresentare il Tibet. Sceneggiatura inconclusa di un dramma all’ultimo atto.
POSTDOCTORAL PROJECTS SUPERVISED
2025 “Dal Mediterraneo all’Himalaya: la trasmissione delle conoscenze mediche e alchemiche in Eurasia”, awarded to Carmen Simioli.
2020 “Tibetan Medicine: Historical and Philological Investigation of Tibetan Tantric and Medical Sources on Treatments of Epidemic Diseases and Poisons between the 10th and 19th Centuries”, awarded to Carmen Simioli.
2016 “Rappresentazioni religiose nella letteratura rituale e geomantica e nelle tradizioni orali dei territori sino-tibetani del Qinghai”, DAAM, awarded to Valentina Punzi.
2002 “Tra antiche vie carovaniere e nuove frontiere: le terre di confine come zone strategiche di interesse culturale, linguistico, economico e socio-politico in Asia meridionale e sud-orientale”, DAAM, awarded to Mara Matta.
INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
Coordinator of agreements with Minzu University of China (Beijing) and the University of Kathmandu.
Coordinator of Socrates/Erasmus agreements with: SOAS (London), Universität Wien, INALCO (Paris), École Pratique des Hautes Études (Paris), Université de Lille, University of Tartu, Ruhr-Universität Bochum.
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND DISSEMINATION
2026 (23 March – 17 April) Instructor of the four-week online course “YS 137 | The Dawn of Physical Yoga: New Discoveries in Tibetan Haṭhayoga”, Yogic Studies (four lectures and four Q&A sessions; now a permanent self-study course); guest on the Yogic Studies Podcast.
2017 (5–26 February) Author of a four-part radio series “Tibet. La terra degli dèi pacifici e irati”, Rai Radio 3, “Uomini e Profeti”.
2012 (25 March) Wikiradio broadcast on 25 March 1959, Rai Radio 3.
2005 Author of the radio programme “L’antica conoscenza del Tibet”, Rai Radio 3, “Uomini e Profeti”.
2003 Author of a four-part radio series “Mistica del Tibet. Estasi e trasgressione”, Rai Radio 3, “Uomini e Profeti”.
2003 (5 May – 28 July) Curator of the exhibition “Nomadi tibetani” (Tibetan Nomads) for the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Museo Preistorico ed Etnografico “Luigi Pigorini”, Rome.
2000–2001 Curator of the exhibition “Il tesoro celeste” (Tibetan medical paintings of the Blue Beryl) for the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Museo “Luigi Pigorini”, Rome.
PUBLICATIONS
Monographs, critical editions and translations
Orofino, G. (2025), The Dawn of Physical Yoga. Dispelling the Hindrances to Immortality, Series Minor CIV, Serie Orientale (n.s.) 44, Naples: UniorPress, 204 pp.
Orofino, G. (1995), Ma gcig. Canti spirituali, Milan: Adelphi.
Orofino, G. (1994), Sekoddeśa. A Critical Edition of the Tibetan Translations, Serie Orientale Roma LXXII, Rome: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, 122 pp.
Gnoli, R., Orofino, G. (1994), Nāropā. Iniziazione. Kālacakra, Milan: Adelphi.
Orofino, G. (1990), Sacred Tibetan Teachings on Death and Liberation, Bridport (Dorset): Prism Press.
Orofino, G. (1987), Contributo allo studio dell’insegnamento di Ma gcig Lab sgron, Supplement no. 53 to Annali, vol. 47, fasc. 4, Naples: Istituto Universitario Orientale, 87 pp.
Edited volumes
Orofino, G., Galli, L., Simioli, C., Previato, T. (eds.) (2019), Wind Horses. Tibetan, Himalayan and Mongolian Studies, Series Minor LXXXVIII, Naples: University of Naples “L’Orientale”.
Orofino, G. et al. (eds.) (2015), Elisir mercuriale e immortalità. Capitoli per una storia dell’alchimia nell’antica Eurasia, II, AION, sezione filologico-letteraria, vol. XXXVII, 176 pp.
Orofino, G. et al. (eds.) (2014), Elisir mercuriale e immortalità. Capitoli per una storia dell’alchimia nell’antica Eurasia, I, AION, sezione filologico-letteraria, vol. XXXVI, 144 pp.
Orofino, G. (ed.) (2012), Psicoanalisi e Buddhismo, Naples: University of Naples “L’Orientale”, 104 pp.
Orofino, G., Vita, S. (eds.) (2010), Buddhist Asia 2, Kyoto: Italian School of East Asian Studies.
Orofino, G., Sferra, F. (eds.) (2009), Ponti magici. Buddhismo e letteratura occidentale, Naples: University of Naples “L’Orientale”.
Heller, A., Orofino, G. (eds.) (2007), Discoveries in Western Tibet and the Western Himalaya. Essays on History, Archaeology and Art. Proceedings of the 10th Seminar of the IATS, vol. 10/8, Leiden: Brill, 240 pp.
Orofino, G. (ed.) (2003), Nomadi tibetani, Rome: Museo Preistorico ed Etnografico “Luigi Pigorini” (with an essay by the editor, pp. 1–125).
Orofino, G. (ed.) (2000), Il Tesoro Celeste. L’arte tibetana della medicina, Rome: Museo Preistorico ed Etnografico “Luigi Pigorini”, 96 pp.
Articles in peer reviews journals (ANVUR Class A)
Orofino, G. (2023), “On the Dissemination of Buddhist Tantras in Tibet. A Historical Introduction”, Annali. Sezione Orientale, 83, pp. 130–153.
Orofino, G. (2022), “Empty Iridescent Spheres. Notes on the Metaphysics of Light in Indian and Tibetan Buddhist Tantric Sources”, Revue d’Études Tibétaines, 65, pp. 159–186.
Orofino, G. (2020), “On the Life of Giuseppe Tucci. A Literary Review”, Rivista degli Studi Orientali, n.s. XCIII, pp. 185–193.
Orofino, G. (2011), “Luciano Petech”, Annali dell’Istituto Universitario Orientale di Napoli, 71, pp. 3–21.
Orofino, G. (2011), “Mnemotecniche visuali dell’antica medicina tibetana”, AION, sezione filologico-letteraria, 15, pp. 71–85.
Orofino, G. (1996), “On the Ṣaḍaṅgayoga and the Realisation of Ultimate Gnosis in the Kālacakratantra”, East and West, 46, pp. 127–145.
Orofino, G. (1991), “The Tibetan Myth of the Hidden Valley in the Visionary Geography of Nepal”, East and West, 41, pp. 239–271.
Orofino, G. (1990), “A Note on Some Tibetan Petroglyphs of the Ladakh Area”, East and West, 40, pp. 173–201.
Book chapters and conference proceedings
Orofino, G. (2025), “From Metaphor to Metaphysics: The Triad of Metaphor, Meaning, and Sign in Bön Dzogchen Philosophy”, in More Light on the Metaphors of Light, by J.-U. Sobisch, C. Jürgens, C. Meinert, V. Staps, K. M. Stünkel, G. Orofino, A. Piras, N. Artemov, G. König and N. Newton, Metaphor Papers, https://doi.org/10.46586/mp.448.527.
Orofino, G. (2025), “The Light that Illuminates the Oral Teaching on the Universal Basis (Kun gzhi)”, in Khenchen Tenpa Yungdrung Rinpoche, C. Ramble (eds.), Celebrating 100 Years of Wisdom, Kathmandu: Vajra Publications, pp. 387–396.
Orofino, G. (2021), “At the End of an Era. The Forgotten Story of ’Jam dbyangs Mkhyen brtse Chos kyi dbang phyug”, in K.-D. Mathes, G. Koura (eds.), Nonsectarianism (ris med) in 19th- and 20th-Century Eastern Tibet, Brill’s Tibetan Studies Library 49, Leiden–Boston: Brill, pp. 18–32.
Orofino, G. (2019), “Il Magistero di Giuseppe Tucci”, in A. Crisanti, Come una nuvola carica di pioggia. Giuseppe Tucci e l’Orientale di Napoli, Series Minor XC, Naples: University of Naples “L’Orientale”, pp. 17–20.
Orofino, G. (2019), “Foreword”, in G. Orofino et al. (eds.), Wind Horses. Tibetan, Himalayan and Mongolian Studies, Series Minor LXXXVIII, Naples, pp. 1–6.
Orofino, G. (2019), “Alcune considerazioni sulle origini del Libro tibetano dei morti”, in G. Orofino et al. (eds.), Wind Horses. Tibetan, Himalayan and Mongolian Studies, Series Minor LXXXVIII, Naples, pp. 317–336.
Orofino, G. (2017), “Torrente di gioventù. Il manifesto della poesia tibetana moderna”, in A. Crisanti, C. Pieruccini, C. Policardi, P. M. Rossi (eds.), Anantaratnaprabhava. Studi in onore di Giuliano Boccali, Collana “Consonanze” 11, Milan: Ledizioni, pp. 375–394.
Orofino, G. (2016), “The Myth of Rudra’s Subjugation According to the bsGrags pa gling grags. Some Observations on the Beginning of a Historiographical Tradition”, in E. De Rossi Filibeck et al. (eds.), Studies in Honour of Luciano Petech. A Commemoration Volume 1914–2014, Rivista degli Studi Orientali, vol. 89, suppl. 1, pp. 147–153.
Orofino, G. (2015), “A Note on Two Theogonic Myths Found in a Bon Magic Ritual”, in H. Havnevik, C. Ramble (eds.), From Bhakti to Bon. Festschrift for Per Kværne, Oslo: Novus Press, pp. 381–395.
Orofino, G. (2015), “The Long Voyage of a Trickster Story from Ancient Greece to Tibet”, in J. Rheingans (ed.), Tibetan Literary Genres, Texts, and Text Types. From Genre Classification to Transformation, Leiden–Boston: Brill, pp. 73–89.
Orofino, G. (2012), “Introduzione”, in Psicoanalisi e Buddhismo, Naples: University of Naples “L’Orientale”, pp. 7–15.
Orofino, G. (2009), “Orizzonte perduto: le radici culturali dell’antico Tibet”, in Tibet. La Cina è fragile, I Quaderni Speciali di Limes, 1, pp. 119–129.
Orofino, G. (2009), “The Mental Afflictions and the Nature of the Supreme Immutable Wisdom in the Sekoddeśa and Its Commentary by Nāropā”, in As Long as Space Endures. Essays on the Kālacakra Tantra in Honor of H.H. the Dalai Lama, Ithaca (NY): Snow Lion Publications, pp. 26–49.
Orofino, G., Sferra, F. (2009), “Introduzione”, in Ponti magici. Buddhismo e letteratura occidentale, Naples: University of Naples “L’Orientale”, pp. 7–14.
Orofino, G. (2007), “Sentieri di liberazione nel buddhismo indo-tibetano”, in G. Boccali, R. Torella (eds.), Passioni d’Oriente. Eros ed emozioni in India e Tibet, Turin: Einaudi, pp. 196–225.
Orofino, G. (2007), “From Archaeological Discovery to Text Analysis. The Khor chags Monastery Findings and the Mañjuśrīnāmasaṃgīti Fragment”, in A. Heller, G. Orofino (eds.), Discoveries in Western Tibet and the Western Himalaya, vol. 10/8, Leiden: Brill, pp. 85–128.
Orofino, G. (2004), “Le dakini custodi della sapienza nel buddhismo indo-tibetano”, in F. Brezzi, G. Provvidenti (eds.), Spostando mattoni a mani nude. Per pensare le differenze, Milan: FrancoAngeli, pp. 87–97.
Orofino, G. (2004), “Eros and Death in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism”, in G. Verardi, S. Vita (eds.), Buddhist Asia 1. Papers from the First Conference of Buddhist Studies Held in Naples in May 2001, Kyoto: Italian School of East Asian Studies, pp. 126–158.
Orofino, G. (2002), “I centomila Tantra degli Antichi. L’edizione di Sde dge del rNying ma rgyud ’bum nel fondo Tucci della biblioteca dell’IsIAO”, in A. Cadonna, E. Bianchi (eds.), Facets of Tibetan Religious Tradition and Contacts with Neighbouring Cultural Areas, Florence: Leo S. Olschki, pp. 211–225.
Orofino, G. (2002), “The Tibetan School of Khri ka’i Stong che: A Report on Italian Development Aid in A mdo”, in T. Huber (ed.), Amdo Tibetans in Transition. Society and Culture in the Post-Mao Era. Proceedings of the 9th Seminar of the IATS, vol. 2/5, Leiden–Boston–Köln: Brill, pp. 291–304.
Orofino, G. (2001), “Notes on the Early Phases of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism”, in R. Torella (eds.), Le parole e i marmi. Studi in onore di Raniero Gnoli, vol. XCII/2, Rome: Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente, pp. 541–564.
Orofino, G. (2001), “Medicina tibetana”, in Storia della Scienza, II, Rome: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, pp. 840–843.
Orofino, G. (2001), “Cakravāḍa, cosmografia buddhista”, in A. Germano, M. Nocca, La collezione Borgia. Curiosità e tesori da ogni parte del mondo, Naples: Electa, pp. 171–172.
Orofino, G. (2001), “Bhavacakra, la ruota dell’esistenza condizionata”, in A. Germano, M. Nocca, La collezione Borgia, Naples: Electa, pp. 170–171.
Orofino, G. (2000), “The Great Wisdom Mother and the Gcod Tradition”, in D. G. White (ed.), Tantra in Practice, Princeton: Princeton University Press, pp. 398–416.
Orofino, G. (1999), “Uomo e Universo in Tibet”, in Uomo e natura verso il nuovo millennio, Bologna: Il Mulino, pp. 39–53.
Orofino, G. (1997), “Apropos of Some Foreign Elements in the Kālacakratantra”, in Tibetan Studies. Proceedings of the 7th Seminar of the IATS, Graz 1995, vol. II, Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, pp. 717–724.
Orofino, G. (1994), “Mirror Divination. Observations on a Simile Found in the Kālacakra Literature”, in Tibetan Studies. Proceedings of the 6th Seminar of the IATS, Oslo: The Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture, pp. 612–628.
Reviews
Orofino, G. (2019), review of Y. Bentor, M. Shahar (eds.), Chinese and Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism, Leiden: Brill 2017, in Rivista degli Studi Orientali, XCII, pp. 309–315.
Orofino, G. (2013), review of K. Debreczeny et al., The Black Hat Eccentric: Artistic Visions of the Tenth Karmapa, New York: Rubin Museum of Art 2012, in Annali, 73, pp. 311–313.
Orofino, G. (2013), review article on C. Cantwell, R. Mayer, A Noble Noose of Methods, The Lotus Garland Synopsis: A Mahāyoga Tantra and Its Commentary, in Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, 7, pp. 454–464.
Orofino, G. (2009), review of C. K. Wedemeyer, Āryadeva’s Lamp that Integrates the Practice (Caryāmelāpakapradīpa), New York: AIBS, Columbia University, in H-Net Reviews, pp. 1–3.