  Dusty tori have been suggested to play a crucial role in determining the
physical characteristics of active galactic nuclei (AGN), but investigation of
their properties has stalled for lack of high resolution mid-IR imaging.
Recently, a long-awaited breakthrough in this field was achieved: NGC 1068, a
nearby AGN, was the first extragalactic object to be observed with a mid-IR
interferometer, thereby obtaining the needed angular resolution to study the
alleged torus.
  In this proceeding, first the field of AGN research is briefly reviewed, with
an emphasis on models of dusty tori. Second, the general properties of the key
object NGC 1068 are discussed. Third, the MIDI mid-IR interferometric data set
is presented together with a first attempt to interpret this data in the
context of tori models. Fourth, preliminary MIDI interferometric spectra of the
nucleus of the nearby starbursting galaxy Circinus are presented. Finally, we
briefly discuss the prospects of ESA's Darwin mission for observing nearby and
distant AGN. This mission will allow detailed mapping of tori of low luminosity
AGN such as NGC 1068 up to redshifts of 1 - 2 and more luminous AGN up to
redshift of 10 and beyond (abridged).
