The ITSERR consortium brings together five leading Italian research institutions: the National Research Council (CNR), the Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia (UNIMORE), the Università di Napoli L’Orientale (UNIOR), the Università degli Studi di Palermo (UNIPA), and the Università degli Studi di Torino (UNITO).
Together, these partners contribute complementary expertise across the humanities and social sciences, with a strong focus on digital humanities, artificial intelligence, information technologies, and cultural heritage studies.
By integrating diverse disciplinary perspectives and advanced technological competences, the consortium develops and strengthens a research infrastructure for Religious Studies, fostering innovation and supporting interdisciplinary research at both national and international levels.
Some background info
Italian National Research Council (CNR), is a national public research body with multidisciplinary expertise, overseen by the Ministry of Universities and Research (MUR). Founded in 1923, its mission is to carry out scientific research in the main fields of knowledge and to apply the results for the country’s development, for promoting innovation and internationalization of the research system, and for fostering the competitiveness of the industrial system
Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia (UNIMORE) is a public research university based in the cities of Modena and Reggio Emilia, in the Emilia‑Romagna region of Italy. Founded in 1175, it is one of the oldest universities in Europe and combines a long academic tradition with a strong commitment to innovation and internationalisation. UNIMORE offers a wide range of educational and research activities across the humanities, social sciences, sciences, engineering and health disciplines, and is actively engaged in national and international research programmes in collaboration with public institutions, research infrastructures and industry partners.
Università di Napoli L’Orientale (UNIOR) is a public research university located in Naples, Italy. Founded in 1732, it is the oldest university in southern Italy and the oldest School of Sinology and Oriental Studies in Europe. It has a long-standing tradition in the study of languages, texts, religions and cultural traditions, with a strong focus on cross-cultural dialogue and comparison at the international level.
Università degli Studi di Palermo (UNIPA) is a public multidisciplinary university located in Palermo, Italy. Founded in 1806, it combines teaching, research and social impact, with a strong commitment to promoting culture, basic and applied research, advanced training and technology transfer in line with constitutional principles and international charters of rights. UNIPA is deeply rooted in its regional context and actively engaged in fostering civil, cultural, social and economic development through innovative educational paths and knowledge-based initiatives.
Università degli Studi di Torino (UNITO) is a public research university located in Turin, Italy. Founded in 1404, it is one of the oldest universities in Italy and today combines high‑level research with innovative teaching across multiple disciplinary fields. With a strong international network and deep roots in its local context, UNITO contributes to technological progress, cultural development and civil coexistence, and plays a key role in the social, cultural and economic growth of the country and the wider international community.
The Partners within ITSERR
The Institute for the Science and Technologies of Information of the Italian National Research Council (CNR-ISTI) is the largest CNR institute for computer science, with a staff of around 230, plus a variable number of students, and is located in Pisa (Tuscany). The main aim of CNR-ISTI is to advance science and achieve important results in many subdomains of computer science; CNR-ISTI is organized in 13 thematic laboratories covering most if not all CS subdomains. The ITSERR project is coordinated by the Artificial Intelligence for Media and the Humanities (AIMH) laboratory, whose expertise covers AI, machine learning, natural language processing, vision and multimedia information processing, and semantic technologies. AIMH has also played a leading role in the development of research infrastructures for the humanities through European projects such as ARIADNE, ARIADNEplus, e-RIHS PP, and PARTHENOS.
The Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia (UNIMORE) has state-of-the-art facilities and internationally-funded research activities. Within ITSERR, UNIMORE contributes expertise in digital humanities, information and communication technologies, and cultural heritage, combining humanistic and technological approaches, with a particular focus on the design of digital tools, data models, and workflows for the analysis of religious and historical sources. ITSERR activities at UNIMORE involve the Dipartimento di Educazione e Scienze Umane, and the Dipartimento di Ingegneria “Enzo Ferrari”.
The Università di Napoli L’Orientale (UNIOR) has a long-standing multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary tradition in the study of languages, texts, religions and cultural traditions, which translates into consolidated expertise in the documentation, cataloguing and interpretation of cultural heritage. Within ITSERR, UNIOR provides specific know-how in the documentation, study, visualization and access to historical and religious sources, also through text analysis and machine learning. ITSERR activities at UNIOR involve the Dipartimento Asia, Africa e Mediterraneo.
The Università degli Studi di Palermo (UNIPA) combines expertise in the documentation, study, visualization and access to cultural heritage with research in text analysis and machine learning, industrial design, and the study of religions. Within ITSERR, the UNIPA unit contributes to the development, testing, and validation of digital tools for Religious Studies and has consolidated experience in the management and coordination of national and international research projects, as well as in the organisation of scientific events, training activities and dissemination initiatives. ITSERR activities at UNIPA involve the Dipartimento Culture e Società together with the Dipartimento di Architettura, the Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza, the Dipartimento di Ingegneria and the Dipartimento di Matematica e Informatica.
The Università degli Studi di Torino (UNITO) is a leading institution in the field of Digital Humanities, with strong expertise in the development of digital tools and methodologies for the study of cultural heritage and the humanities. It also has a long tradition of research in Religious Studies, including the history of Christianity and the history of Islam in Europe. In the framework of ITSERR, UNITO contributes to the design and implementation of digital tools for the study of cultural heritage, to the analysis and interpretation of textual and non-textual sources, and to the advancement of research in the field of religions. ITSERR activities at UNITO involve the Dipartimento di Studi Storici, which brings together scholars working with historical methods on documents, texts, artefacts, monuments, and territorial organisation, from past to present.