Over the course of its multimillennary historical development, the Indian subcontinent has been the fertile ground upon which the most diverse political powers have succeeded one another, where highly varied cultures have engaged in constant confrontation and coexistence, and where a multitude of philosophical and religious experiences have flourished with a force whose boundless reach is still felt today. Yet, despite its complex diversity, the culture that blossomed in that region of the world succeeded in integrating the dynamism of its many expressions into a spiritual identity that, while certainly not uniform, is nonetheless unifying.

Nourished by and continually engaging with the Vedic tradition, handled and reworked over time according to the needs of each era, it found expression, and continues to do so, in various schools of thought that, ever since antiquity, have continuously conveyed their refined concepts and lived experiences even beyond their strict geographical boundaries, reaching as far west as the Greek and Roman world. Indeed, ranging from philosophy (such as the Indian influence discernible in Pythagorean and Platonic doctrines, in Hellenistic philosophies, and even in certain currents of modern German thought), to literature (as witnessed in the westward transmission of the medieval textual traditions of the Life of Buddha and the Pañcatantra), to fine arts (which offer beautiful expressions of cultural syncretism), the long history of exchange between India and Europe stands as a luminous testimony to a continuous exchange of intellectual light – commercium lucis.

Therefore, Accademia Vivarium novum, deeply committed to appreciating and promoting the commercium lucis between civilisations, is pleased to organise Darśana, a Week of Indian Studies, to be held from April 13 to 18, 2026, at its premises in Villa Falconieri, Frascati. Experts from both Europe and the Indian Subcontinent will present lectures on Sanskrit literature, Indian philosophy, and the arts, while at the same time illustrating the multiple dimensions of comparison that such studies invite and indeed require.

The comparative perspective will unfold on three fundamental planes: first, the development of a shared Indo-European genealogical heritage, as manifested, above all, in ancient texts of the East and the West; secondly, the sphere of historical contact and reciprocal reception, in which texts, artistic forms, and philosophical ideas traversed linguistic and cultural frontiers; and finally, the autonomous expressions of the human spirit, which, even in the absence of direct influence, reveal striking convergences in poetic imagination, speculative inquiry, and the aspiration for the transcendental.

By bringing together scholars working in Indological and Classical disciplines, the Accademia seeks to foster an intellectual space in which these different approaches stand in fruitful dialogue and mutual illumination. The Week aims also to demonstrate that the study of Sanskrit texts and Indian thought forms an essential part of a truly comprehensive humanistic education, opening a path toward a deeper awareness of our shared humanity and of that unity which does not suppress difference, but brings it into harmony.