PROGRAMME AND ABSTRACTS - Università degli Studi di Messina

PANEL 7
Tue 15 th , 9.00-12.00, Classroom 5
Marco Pasi, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
Correnti e idee esoteriche in Italia dal Settecento ai giorni nostri
The presence of esoteric currents and ideas in Italy
from the 18 th century to our days
A significant amount of research has been done in Italy on the history of esoteric ideas, but this
has been mainly focused on the Middle Ages or the early modern period. From the presence of
magic, alchemy, and astrology in medieval thought, to the revival of Hermetic and Neoplatonic
ideas during the Renaissance up to the Scientific Revolution, the importance of this field of
research for the history of Italian culture has been widely acknowledged. But the permanence
of these ideas and cultural traditions in Italy in the period that begins with the Enlightenment,
has perhaps received less attention from academic scholars, and still offers many interesting,
potentially fruitful threads for research. These include for instance the influence in Italy of
Swedenborgianism and of animal magnetism, the spreading of an esoterically oriented highdegree
freemasonry, the impact of spiritualism, occultism, traditionalism, neopaganism, and,
more recently, of New Age ideas. The announcement of the preparation of a volume devoted to
the history of esotericism in Italy in the prestigious series of the Annali Einaudi is perhaps the
occasion to focus on these different currents and ideas in the late modern period. Proposals
focusing on historiographical aspects, i.e. in particular on the history of the study of esoteric
currents and ideas in the 20th century in Italy, will also be particularly welcome. Proposals can
be submitted either in Italian or in English. Both languages will be accepted for the panel.
9.00 Gian Mario
Cazzaniga
L'esoterismo come problema storiografico nella cultura
filosofica italiana del XX secolo
9.20 Francesca M.Crasta Swedenborg e l'Italia tra Settecento e Novecento
9.40 Alessandro
Grossato
L'architettura esoterica di Giuseppe Jappelli
10.00 Marco Pasi La presenza della Società Teosofica e della Società
Antroposofica in Italia
10.20 Thomas H. Hakl Le presenze femminili nella biografia di Julius Evola
11.00 Francesco Baroni Tra esoterismo, New Age e mistica cristiana: le dottrine del
Cerchio Firenze 77
11.20 Discussion
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