The association “Politeiai – dalla polis alla res publica” was established with the aim of promoting the study, research, and dissemination of the political cultures and institutional traditions of the ancient world, in the awareness that historical and philological inquiry constitutes a fundamental instrument for understanding the forms of civic life and the processes through which political communities are constructed.Recent studies on the political models of antiquity appear to be developing along two divergent lines: on the one hand, the renewed interest in Aristotle’s Politics, a foundational work of political science situated at the threshold between the world of the poleis and the emergence of the Hellenistic kingdoms; on the other hand, the decreasing attention devoted to the unprecedented form, within the Mediterranean context, of the Roman res publica. Aware of this historiographical imbalance, the association places at the centre of its activities the parallel and comparative study of ancient political and institutional forms, together with an in-depth examination of the first great treatise of political science, whose theoretical scope, historical rootedness, and capacity to illuminate the long-term transformations of political cultures it seeks to enhance. The analysis — intended to counter every form of simplification — of the reception and reinterpretation of these models in subsequent centuries up to the contemporary age, as well as the application of new technologies to ancient texts, understood as tools capable of opening new perspectives for their interpretation, transmission, and dissemination, are included within the association’s cultural and scientific programme.The association is conceived as an independent research institute and study centre aimed at fostering scientific cooperation, the training of students and young scholars, and the enhancement of the cultural heritage of antiquity, while at the same time promoting public access to knowledge and scholarly debate.