Raniero Gnoli
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Count Raniero Gnoli (20 January 1930 – 5 May 2025) was an Italian orientalist, indologist and historian of religion.
A student of Giuseppe Tucci and Mario Praz, Raniero Gnoli was a Professor of Indology at the University of Rome La Sapienza from 1964 to 2000, as well as dean of the School of Oriental Studies at the same university.
Famous Sanskritist, his scope of research covered the theologies and religious philosophies of India, especially those related to Tantric Shaivism (i.e., Kashmir Shaivism), medieval schools of Buddhist logic, and doctrines mentioned in Kālacakratantra.
Gnoli was also the first to translate many texts belonging to the Indian religious traditions from Sanskrit into Western languages, contributing decisively to a more precise definition of the relevant terminology. He remained the only one in the world to have translated the voluminous work Tantrāloka written in the 10th century by Indian philosopher Abhinavagupta.
An expert also in Greek and Roman culture, he compiled Marmora Romana, a thorough "study of the decorative stones used by the ancients, that is, of marbles which, in the classical meaning of the word, include all decorative stones susceptible to polishing."
Raniero Gnoli was the brother of Gherardo Gnoli who was the president of the Italian Institute for Africa and the East.
Gnoli died on 5 May 2025, at the age of 95.[1]
