Gerini, Gerolamo Emilio
Name
Gerini, Gerolamo Emilio
Gender
Male
Birth
March 1, 1860 Cisano
Death
October 11, 1913 Turin
Descriptive Note
Gerolamo Emilio Gerini graduated from the Modena Military Academy in 1878, and served as lieutenant in the Pinerolo Regiment in Perugia. Upon discovering that the Royal Army of Siam was looking for European officers to train their soldiers, he decided to enlist. He arrived in Siam just a few months after the arrival of the Duke of Genoa on March 29, 1881. He joined the army of Siam as a lieutenant in charge of training cadets and served as instructor of the Royal Page Bodyguards. In 1985, King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) appointed him as Director of Military Education at the Ministry of Defense with the task of increasing the number of soldiers in the Siamese army and building up their military skills. He received numerous titles and recognitions such as Commander of the Most Exhalted Order of the White Elephant in 1905 (Kanokwan Gerini 1).
A prolific writer, Gerini wrote several volumes on the culture, customs, history, archaeology, language, and religion of Siam and was a regular contributor to the Asiatic Quarterly Review. His essay on the archaeology of Siam appeared in The Kingdom of Siam 1904, that A. Cecil Carter edited for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition.
In 1911, Gerini collaborated with the Royal Siamese Commission for Foreign Exhibitions (whose President was the King of Siam, Vajirāvudh, who succeeded King Chulalongkorn as Rama VI) to set up the exhibits for the Pavilion of Siam. The Executive Committee for the Siamese exhibit in Turin was composed of Gerini himself (Commissioner-General), Annibale Rigotti (Techinical Director for the building of the Pavilion), and Giovanni Vigna dal Ferro (Secretary). The official opening of the Pavilion of Siam occurred on May 27th, 1911 and the closing ceremony took place on November 20, 1911.
He wrote the Official catalogue of the Siamese Section at the 1911 Turin Exposition. The first edition was issued in Italian in July 1911 and an English edition followed in December 1911: Siam and Its Productions, Arts and Manufactures.
Gerini also created a photo album Souvenir Album of Siam at the Turin International Exhibition 1911.
Roles
Committees, Individual Pavilion's Committee
Selected References
Gerini, Kanokwan. "Reconstructing G.E. Gerini's roles as the Commissioner-General to H. M. the King of Siam at the Turin International Exhibition 1911: A point of View of Manuscripts on Microfilm."; Gerini, G. E. Siam and its Productions, Arts and Manifactures (1911). Bangkok, White Lotus, 2000.
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