«My moral and civil commitment»: Giorgio Bassani's correspondence with worldwide intellectuals.

Project Information

WorldWideBassani

Grant agreement ID: 101105665

DOI

10.3030/101105665

Project closed

EC signature date 11 May 2023

Start date 1 September 2023

End date 30 April 2026

Funded under

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 211 754,88

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITE PARIS III SORBONNE NOUVELLE
France

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - WorldWideBassani («My moral and civil commitment»: Giorgio Bassani's correspondence with worldwide intellectuals.)

Reporting period: 2023-09-01 to 2026-04-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The literary production of Giorgio Bassani developed in one of the most difficult periods in the history of humanity. After the end of the Second World War and the progressive spread of knowledge of the atrocities committed, it was necessary to open a space for dialogue and exchange, to reconstruct society from its foundations. The debate has been developed at the international level in a significant way since the 1970s and 1980s, and then it has been intensifying starting from 2000 (in what has been called the «era of witness»). However, this would not have been possible without the work of reflection and self-analysis carried out by authors such as Giorgio Bassani. The main core of his art is the witness and memory of the Shoah. To those who asked him about the origin of his writing, Giorgio Bassani replied: «A humanity that forgot Buchenwald, Auschwitz, Mauthausen, I cannot accept it. I write because we remember it».
As a result, he initiates, with exceptional anticipation of the times, a profound reflection focused not only on the need to bear witness to the atrocities of persecution, but also on the duty to rebuild a society based on peaceful coexistence: «In Ferrara’s novel there is my message to Europe, the profound meaning of my moral and civil commitment». With the novels Cinque storie ferraresi, 1956; Gli occhiali d'oro, 1958; Il giardino dei Finzi-Contini, 1962 (from which was taken in 1972 an Oscar-winning film for best foreign language film), the author has achieved great success with the public, both in Italy and abroad. Yet, alongside the study of works, interviews, essays, there is a field of study which is still completely unexplored: the exchange of letters, initiated very early by Bassani, with foreign poets, writers, artists, publishers, translators and consultants from Europe and outside Europe. Through this confrontation, which has continued throughout his life, his thought has matured and evolved.
WorldWideBassani project proposes to study and analyze, for the first time, the extraordinary material represented by the letters exchanged over fifty years between the Italian writer Giorgio Bassani (1916-2000) and intellectuals from all over the world, preserved in the Giorgio Bassani Heirs Archive in Paris (GBHA).
Among Bassani's correspondents we find important intellectuals of the twentieth century, both Italians and foreigners. Reconstructing a map of the meetings, solicitations and exchanges between Bassani and his correspondents from all over the world was undoubtedly an original but not easy operation, also because it has required, from a methodological point of view, new critical-interpretative approaches.
The aim of the research is to describe the evolution of Giorgio Bassani’s thought in the personal and artistic elaboration, through the comparison and dialogue with intellectuals of two complementary aspects: the construction of Jewish identity; the tragedy of persecution and the Shoah.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The project has achieved its core objectives through the systematic study and analysis of Giorgio Bassani’s correspondence, with particular attention to both Italian and international intellectual networks. A major outcome has been the complete publication of the correspondence between Bassani and Anna Banti, which enabled a detailed reconstruction of the writer’s cultural and political background in the immediate post-war period. This work has shed light on Bassani’s close circle of intellectuals, selected on the basis of a shared worldview, which profoundly influenced both his artistic production and his ideological choices.
The analysis of correspondence with foreign intellectuals has proven equally significant in assessing how exposure to diverse political, social, and cultural contexts contributed to the development of Bassani’s thought. This transnational perspective also clarifies his decision to devote himself to literature—a path he embraced מתוך a strong conviction in the ethical value of writing and the responsibility inherent in intellectual engagement.
In this respect, specific case studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of the project’s methodology. The reconstruction of Bassani’s relationships with Michel Mohrt, editor at Gallimard, and Hubert Decleva, an Austrian intellectual with whom he shared the years of clandestinity between 1943 and 1945, has made it possible to measure with considerable precision the impact of cultural exchanges on his intellectual formation. Similarly, the reconstruction of Bassani’s 1966 journey to Israel, based on epistolary sources, has revealed the rich social and literary milieu in which the author reaffirmed the solidity of his positions, including at the political level.
More broadly, the project aimed to reconstruct this extensive and significant network of intellectual and editorial relationships through the study of approximately 5,000 letters preserved in the Giorgio Bassani Historical Archive (GBHA), whose recent cataloguing and reorganization have made this material fully accessible to scholars. The final objective—namely, to demonstrate how dialogue with Italian and international intellectuals shaped Bassani’s intellectual and ethical development—has been successfully accomplished.
In addition, the project offers a robust and transferable methodological framework that can be applied to other authors and literary contexts, thereby extending its impact beyond the specific case study.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The project has achieved the expected scientific impact. The research has carried out the reconstruction of Giorgio Bassani's intellectual network through a systematic analysis of his correspondence with multiple interlocutors. The project contributed to the state of the art by developing an integrated and transnational perspective on twentieth-century intellectual dialogue. By bringing together dispersed materials and adopting an interdisciplinary framework, the research offered new insights into the dynamics of cultural exchange across different national and intellectual contexts. In particular, the analysis of unpublished or studied materials has opened new perspectives on the evolution of Bassani's thought and its impact on literary production. The scientific impact is also reflected in several publications (including 5 peer-reviewed publications, 2 peer-reviewed and open access publications, and 2 monographs) and six conference presentations (including two international conferences and a presentation) which have helped to disseminate the project's results within the academic community. The methodological approach developed in the project shows a strong potential for transferability to other authors and contexts, thus extending its relevance beyond the specific case. As far as social impact is concerned, the project has contributed to fostering reflection on the role of cultural memory and testimony in contemporary society. Through dissemination and communication activities, the project involved different audiences, including students and the wider public, promoting an "active memory" of the main historical experiences of the twentieth century. The project also contributes to strengthening a shared European cultural identity by highlighting the transnational dimension of intellectual exchange and the relevance of Bassani's work in addressing issues such as memory, identity and historical responsibility. In this regard, the project is in line with the EU priority "Promoting the European Way of Life" and contributes to broader reflections relevant to cultural and educational policies.