In 1884, when students of the third year of the Specialization School of Rome had already been conducting research in Greece, Federico Halbherr, a student of
Domenico Comparetti, initiated the first modern Italian archaeological season in Greece with the discovery of the
Gortyn Code. So on May 9, 1909, the Italian parliament approved the R.D. n. 373, according which "An Italian Institute of Archeology is established in Greece, with headquarters in Athens, with the name of «R. Italian archaeological school of Athens»" (Official Gazette 30 June 1909, n. 151). It replaced the previous Italian archaeological mission of Crete established ten years earlier. The first director was Halbherr's pupil, Luigi Pernier. The first works of the School focused on Crete, and above all on Gortyna, Priniàs, Festòs and Aghia Triada. ==References==