In the mid-17th century, the Manchus established the Qing Empire in China and started a remarkable period of openness towards the west.

One such person was the missionary Matteo Ripa of the Propaganda Fide from the Kingdom of Naples, who worked as a painter and copper engraver at the imperial court of the Kangxi Emperor between 1711 and 1723.

The school buildings comprised the Complesso dei Cinesi located at the boundary of Capodimonte and the Rione Sanità.

[1] After the unification of Italy in 1861, the institution was transformed into the "Royal Asian College" (Real collegio asiatico) and other languages such as Russian, Hindustani, and Persian were added to the curriculum.

The main altarpiece depicting a Holy Family adored by two of the first Chinese Seminarians (1769) was painted by Antonio Sarnelli.

However, like most universities in Italy, the IUO lacks a single main campus and is distributed over the city at a number of different sites.