Biancamaria Scarcia Amoretti
{{Short description|Italian Islamic studies scholar}}
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Biancamaria Scarcia Amoretti, (26 November 1938, in Aosta – 19 September 2020, in Rome), was an Italian researcher and Islamologist. She specialized in the history of medieval Islam, particularly in the relations between religion and politics. The scholar was also interested in Shia Islam and issues related to female expressiveness and representation in this history.
Biography
Biancamaria Amoretti was born on 26 November 1938, in Aosta.{{Cite web |title=Morta Biancamaria Scarcia Amoretti giurata del Premio Pozzale |url=https://www.iltirreno.it/empoli/cronaca/2020/09/21/news/morta-biancamaria-scarcia-amoretti-giurata-del-premio-pozzale-1.39332464 |access-date=2024-06-25 |website=Il Tirreno |language=it}}{{Cite journal |last1=Cristoforetti |first1=Simone |last2=Karami |first2=Leila |date=July 2021 |title=In Memoriam: Biancamaria Scarcia Amoretti (26 November 1938–19 September 2020): Teacher, Author, and Scholar of Islamic and Iranian Studies |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/iranian-studies/article/in-memoriam-biancamaria-scarcia-amoretti-26-november-193819-september-2020-teacher-author-and-scholar-of-islamic-and-iranian-studies/5D9334C7148F4439B208621D018AEDC0 |journal=Iranian Studies |language=en |volume=54 |issue=3–4 |pages=691–695 |doi=10.1080/00210862.2020.1855935 |issn=0021-0862}} She earned her doctorate in 1963 from the University of Naples - L'Orientale with a dissertation titled "Hagiography, Popular Devotion, and Pilgrimages Dedicated to the Eighth Imam, ʿAlī al-Riḍā". Her thesis director was Laura Veccia Vaglieri.
After completing her university studies, she began teaching at the Sapienza University of Rome in 1967 as an assistant. In 1971, she was promoted to adjunct professor, and in 1976, she received tenure. Finally, in 1985, Amoretti was appointed to the chair of Islamology at the university. Her primary research interests were the history of medieval Islam, particularly the relationships between religion and politics.
She was also interested in Shia Islam and issues related to female expressiveness and representation in this history.{{Cite web |date=20 September 2020 |title=Italian Orientalist Biancamaria Scarcia dies at 82 |url=https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/452672/Italian-Orientalist-Biancamaria-Scarcia-dies-at-82 |access-date=2024-06-25 |website=Tehran Times |language=en |archive-date=2022-04-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427072247/https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/452672/Italian-Orientalist-Biancamaria-Scarcia-dies-at-82 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=JAYAT KHALIST. Letture femministe di Biancamaria Scarcia Amoretti, DWF (131) 2021, 3 {{!}} DWF |url=https://www.dwf.it/rivista/jayat-khalist-letture-femministe-di-biancamaria-scarcia-amoretti-dwf-131-2021-3/ |access-date=2024-06-25 |language=it-IT}} Throughout her research and travels, the historian described herself as a feminist and wrote about the condition of women in the Muslim world. She contributed to the feminist journal DWF from its inception in 1976.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Amoretti frequently traveled to Iran for her research.{{Cite journal |last=Rossi |first=Valentina Sagaria |date=30 July 2021 |title=Biancamaria Scarcia Amoretti (1938–2020) |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/ssr/5/1-2/article-p285_7.xml |journal=Shii Studies Review |volume=5 |issue=1–2 |pages=285–321 |doi=10.1163/24682470-12340070 |issn=2468-2470 |access-date=2024-06-25 |archive-date=2022-03-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311185805/https://brill.com/view/journals/ssr/5/1-2/article-p285_7.xml |url-status=live }}
She married Gianroberto Scarcia, one of her fellow Islamologists. Starting in 1992, Amoretti served as a juror for the Pozzale Luigi Russo Prize. In 1998, she organized the first international meeting of scholars on the theme of the ashraf and wrote a significant portion of the scientific outputs for the conference.{{Cite journal |last=Mayeur-Jaouen |first=Catherine |date=17 November 2023 |title=Quête des ansāb et quête des ašrāf dans le monde arabe (XVe-XXe siècle): Introduction |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/ormo/103/1/article-p3_2.xml |journal=Oriente Moderno |volume=103 |issue=1 |pages=3–35 |doi=10.1163/22138617-12340318 |issn=2213-8617}}
Legacy
The Iranian Cultural Institute in Italy quickly organized a webinar on 29 September 2020, in her honor.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plcjAiG7kX0 |title=Omaggio a Biancamaria Scarcia Amoretti |date=29 September 2020 |last=Antonello Sacchetti |access-date=2024-06-25 |via=YouTube}} The journal DWF paid tribute to her. In 2023, the University of Trieste held a conference in her memory titled "Study days in memory of Biancamaria Scarcia Amoretti: the role of women in the Muslim world and Palestine".{{Cite web |date=7 March 2023 |title=Giornate di studio in memoria di Biancamaria Scarcia Amoretti |url=https://www.units.it/news/giornate-di-studio-memoria-di-biancamaria-scarcia-amoretti |access-date=2024-06-25 |website=Università degli studi di Trieste}}
References
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{{Authority control}}{{Portal bar|Islam|Italy|Women}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scarcia Amoretti, Biancamaria}}
Category:Islamic studies scholars
Category:20th-century Italian essayists
Category:21st-century Italian essayists
Category:Academic staff of the Sapienza University of Rome