Jamal bin Hassan al Moosawi, Secretary-General of the National Museum, has been awarded the 'Order of the Star of Italy' (knighthood) by Sergio Mattarella, President of the Italian Republic, for his role in strengthening the bilateral relations between the two countries.
Federica Favi, the Italian Ambassador, handed over the medal to Al Moosawi at an event organised at her residence here on Sunday .
The Italian Ambassador praised the role of the Secretary-General of the National Museum in boosting bilateral relations in the areas of culture and museums between Oman and Italy. The process started in 2011 through cooperation with Italian expertise during the founding stages of the National Museum project, especially in the preservation, conservation and development of museum narratives.
In 2019 an exhibition titled 'Visionists: Forty Years of Italian Archaeological Research in the Sultanate of Oman' was dedicated to the biographies of excavators and archaeological studies who conducted their research in Oman.
Cooperation between the two countries is also represented through the participation of the National Museum in a cultural visual lecture on the culture of fragrance, accompanying the perfumes exhibition at the Turin Archeology Museum in 2020, and hosting the 'Fragrant Frankincense' exhibition in cooperation with the Italian Perfume Foundation in 2021 which included loaned artefacts from the Italian Republic along with Omani archaeological collections.
Both exhibitions dealt with the civilisational, historical and religious dimensions of the culture of fragrance and the role that the Sultanate of Oman played across the ages in cultural and commercial communication through the frankincense pathways, starting from the urban areas of the Land of Frankincense in the Dhofar Governorate.
The National Museum is the country's flagship cultural institution, showcasing its cultural heritage from the earliest evidence of human settlement in the Arabian Peninsula to the present day through which it looks forward to a promising future.
The Museum was established by Royal Decree 62/2013, issued on 16 Muharram 1435 AH (corresponding to 20 November 2013 CE), as a legal entity with financial and administrative independence and the capacity to own, manage and dispose of tangible and intangible assets of Oman's cultural heritage in line with internationally recognised experiences and standards in classifying ancient museums. The Museum aims to achieve its educational, cultural and humanitarian mission by consolidating noble Omani values and raising public awareness among citizens, residents and visitors about its history, heritage and culture and by developing their creative and intellectual abilities, especially in the areas of preserving evidence, collectibles, and highlighting its cultural dimensions by employing and adopting the best practices and standards in the fields of museum sciences.
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