Archaeology means the 'science of the ancient' in Greek and as a concept it is defined as follows: "the scientific discipline that studies, that uncovers employing scientific methods all the types of works created by the people who lived in the past". Archaeology was born in the 19th century.It is known that the large states of Europe began to pay more attention to the archaeological remains of other countries in the 19th century. This interest cannot be defined as only the interest in the antiquities of the history of mankind. The European states also took a great interest in Orientalism in the same century in order to learn more about the history, culture, religion and customs of the Eastern countries in which they were already interested for their rich resources and markets. Western scholars also agree that this and similar scientific research were considered to be auxiliary elements in actualising the imperialist goals of the European states. In the 19th century the interest in sites with abundant archaeological finds increased in parallel to the interest that was directed to archaeology. The land of the Ottoman Sultanate, that included Anatolia, the cradle of numerous civilisations, also attracted archaeological studies. These studies, above all conducted by archaeologists from Germany, Austria, France and England, brought to light numerous archaeological works.The excavations facilitated by the Ottoman administrators brought to light many works, thus contributing to the knowledge of the history of mankind. However, not all of the archaeological missions visiting Anatolia were content with solely scientific research, as some of them built the infrastructure for the colonial penetration of Anatolia. Antiquities discovered during this period were usually taken out of the country without the consent of the Ottoman Government and the process of returning these antiquities that are on display in many foreign museums to Turkey continues.It is accepted that the Italians, who wanted to rule in Anatolia, also began their archaeological missions in the 19th century. However, the activities of Italian archaeological missions in Anatolia began just before the onset of the First World War. Wishing to rule over southwest Anatolia, Italy opened a consulate in Antalya in 1913, after the Tripoli War. Agostini Ferrante, appointed as Italian consul, began to act as if he was the owner of the antiquities in the region and claimed rights over Antalya and its environs, Italy saw herself as the heir to the Roman Empire and she began the study and the uncovering of the antiquities in the region. However, these missions not only conducted archaeological research but also prepared the region for Italian colonial sovereignty. Scholars, who were the members of these archaeological missions -the pioneers of Italian diffusionism- delivered lectures and published books and articles on their return home informing the Italian public about Anatolia and contributing to the formation of their government's imperial policies. A matter of importance is the fact that the Italian archaeological missions' work area matched the area that they claimed sovereignty over in the secret treaties that were signed with England and France at London (26 April 1915) and at St. Jean de Maurienne (8 August 1917) and this was no mere accident.The war delayed the achievement of the intentions and the goals of Italy. But, with the end of the war, the Italians resumed their activities in Anatolia at the point where they had left off. Occupying the land promised to them through these secret treaties, the Italians conducted archaeological research in the region and they repaired ancient monuments. Archaeologists such as Biagio Pace and Roberto Paribeni carried out propaganda in favour of Italy in order to attract the local population to their aims. These Italian archaeologists conducted their work sometimes with the knowledge of the Ottoman government and sometimes privately. When the works discovered were taken under Italian protection without informing the government there was a reaction by the Ottoman State. As is inferred from the documents, Italian researchers took away some archaeological works that they had discovered without informing the Ottoman government. Although it is not possible to make a full list of all these items that had been illegally taken abroad, the official correspondence between the Ottoman authorities in respect to the transportation of antiquities to Italy by Italian archaeologists is given in the text of this article. The activities of the Italian archaeologists continued during the period of occupation despite the reaction of the Ottoman government. The victory of the Turkish army brought the activities of the Italian archaeological missions to an end. Although fewer in number some Italian archaeologists continued their work in Anatolia, with the official permission that was granted by the Ankara government during the early years of the Turkish Republic. As it was part of the Roman Empire in Antiquity, Anatolia had attracted the attention of Italian archaeologists and this interest continues today. However, these studies are done in scientific collaboration between two friendly countries and so quite different from the aims and actions of Italian archaeologists in the past. The results of these collaborations are the studies that are presented to the Turkish and Italian publics in the form of books, exhibitions and articles.