On 21 February 1996 in the hall of the Lallgarh Palace Hotel in Bikaner, in the presence of the Italian ambassador His Excellency Gaetano Zucconi and of the governor of Rajasthan His Excellency B.R. Bhagath, the international conference on Tessitori and Rajasthan, held from 21 to 23 February, was inaugurated. The conference was organized by the Società Indologica "Luigi Pio Tessitori" in collaboration with the Venetian Academy of Indian Studies in Venice, the Italian Institute of Culture in New Delhi and the B.M. Birla Science Centre in Hyderabad, and proceedings featured contributions by scholars from both Europe and India. The three-day programme included papers by the following: Carlo Della Casa, University of Turin (Tessitori's contribution to Jaina studies); H.M. Banthia, Pancala Sodha Samsthana in Kanpur (A tribute to Dr. Luigi Pio Tessitori); Colette Caillat, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris (Luigi Pio Tessitori and international cooperation in the 19th-20th century); E. Fasana, University of Trieste (Luigi Pio Tessitori: his historical researche and the Rajasthan of his times); Nalini Balbir, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris (The story of Solomon's Judgment revisited); S. Piano, University of Turin (Tessitori and the Râmakathâ); J.D. Smith, University of Cambridge (Heroes, victims and role-models: the inhabitants of the Rajasthani epic world); K.S. Sogani, Apabramsha Academy in Jaipur (Tessitori and Apabramsha); H.C. Bhayani, Gujarat University in Ahmedabad (Periodization of the historical development of Gujarati); G.S. Sharma, Rajasthan Archives in Bikaner (Luigi Pio Tessitori's contribution to the history of Rajasthan); P.C. Bhargava (Tessitori's contribution to archaeology in Rajasthan); B.B. Lal, Archaeological Survey of India (Tessitori and Kalibangan); D. Dolcini, University of Milan (Tessitori and the religious world of Rajasthan as perceived through a Jodhpuri manuscript); S.K. Kavia, University of Jodhpur (The Letters of Luigi Pio Tessitori); F. Freschi, Società Indologica "Luigi Pio Tessitori" (Luigi Pio Tessitori' s unpublished works in the Archivio Peano).