Il Real Collegio Asiatico e la formazione di interpreti e diplomatici italiani per l'Estremo Oriente

In the aftermath of the Second Opium War, Italy was still without a diplomatic representative in China. Apart from political issues, one of the most urgent issue was the lack of capable interpreters of Chinese language. The Italian leaders were thus forced to ask the religious institution known as the Collegio de’ Cinesi (Chinese College) in Naples for Chinese speakers. This paper aims to look through the contribution given by this College in terms of interpreters and diplomatic services and to give a brief summary of the alumni who worked for the newborn Italian government.