The History of RECEPTIO
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Research, Cultural Dialogue, and the European Philological Tradition
2016–Present
The Research Centre for European Philological Tradition (RECEPTIO) was founded in Switzerland in 2016 by Prof. Carla Rossi. It began as an independent, non-profit cultural association bringing together friends and colleagues—philologists, philosophers, art historians, writers, and other scholars in the humanities—around the editorial and intellectual project of the journal Theory and Criticism of Literature and Arts.
The journal provided the first shared space in which this community of scholars could develop interdisciplinary discussions concerning literature, textual transmission, art, philosophy, and European cultural traditions. From these beginnings, the centre gradually developed into an independent research centre devoted particularly to Romance philology, medieval and Renaissance literature, manuscript studies, codicology, textual criticism, critical editions, digital humanities, and the preservation of Europe’s written cultural heritage.
The name of the Centre reflects this intellectual mission. In philological terminology, the Latin word receptio refers to the reception and assimilation of a cultural element and to the changing fortunes of a literary or artistic work among different audiences. At the same time, the name evokes the broader meaning of welcome and hospitality: the Centre was conceived from the outset as a place in which scholars, students, writers, artists, teachers, and members of the public could meet and exchange ideas.
RECEPTIO combined traditional philological methods with digital technologies, promoting new approaches to the study, documentation, reconstruction, and dissemination of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts. Its activities soon extended beyond Switzerland through collaborations with universities, libraries, museums, research groups, and cultural institutions in several European countries.
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The Establishment of Fondazione RECEPTIO
As the Centre’s scholarly and international activities expanded, the Fondazione RECEPTIO was established, with its principal base in Lugano and a subsidiary presence in London.
During these years, RECEPTIO organised international conferences, seminars, lectures, book presentations, courses, and cultural meetings. It promoted scholarly publications, coordinated independent research projects, and contributed to critical editions, catalogues, and studies devoted to medieval and Renaissance textual and artistic traditions.
The Centre also developed an international network of scholars working in Romance philology, manuscript studies, literature, philosophy, history of art, cultural heritage, and digital humanities. Its activities were never limited to a single discipline. They were guided by the belief that philology is not merely a specialised academic field, but a method for understanding texts, images, historical evidence, and the processes through which cultural memory is transmitted, altered, fragmented, or recovered.
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Villa Giambonini: The Lugano Headquarters
In 2019, RECEPTIO established its headquarters in the historic Villa Giambonini, at Viale Castagnola 27 in Lugano.
The villa became the focal point of the Centre’s scientific, educational, and cultural life. It housed offices, teaching spaces, accommodation for visiting researchers, and a major specialised philological library. More importantly, Villa Giambonini became a place of intellectual encounter: a setting in which internationally established scholars, young researchers, writers, teachers, students, and members of the public could meet outside the conventional boundaries of university departments.
The Lugano headquarters hosted one of the most extensive specialised philological libraries in Italian-speaking Switzerland. Its holdings included the personal libraries of the distinguished Romance philologists Giuseppe Tavani and Giulia Lanciani. These collections were complemented by the substantial personal library donated by the Centre’s founder, Prof. Carla Rossi, as well as by books and materials contributed by other philologists and scholars.
The library thus grew not simply through institutional acquisition, but through the intellectual legacies of researchers who had devoted their lives to Romance philology, medieval literature, textual criticism, and the history of European culture. It became an important resource for scholars working on medieval and Renaissance texts, manuscripts, and literary traditions.
Villa Giambonini was not conceived merely as an administrative headquarters. It was a research environment, a residence for scholars, a library, a teaching venue, and a cultural meeting place.
This period came to an end after the villa was sold to a new private owner. Following the change of ownership, the centre was required to vacate the premises, making it impossible to continue its activities at Villa Giambonini and necessitating the relocation of its library, research programmes, and institutional work.
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An International Place of Cultural Dialogue
The cultural programme developed at Villa Giambonini extended far beyond conventional academic lectures. RECEPTIO sought to create a place in which philological and historical research could enter into dialogue with contemporary European society.
The Centre hosted academics and intellectuals from different parts of the world, as well as writers, witnesses of twentieth-century history, and figures engaged in the defence of culture, memory, and intellectual freedom.
In 2019, RECEPTIO welcomed Prof. Betül Parlak of Istanbul University for a meeting devoted to the situation of intellectuals and academics in Turkey (video). Her testimony drew attention to the pressures experienced by scholars and cultural figures and situated the defence of academic freedom within the Centre’s broader commitment to intellectual independence.
RECEPTIO also organised encounters with survivors of the Shoah, creating opportunities for direct dialogue between historical testimony, younger generations, and scholarly reflection. These meetings reflected the Centre’s conviction that the preservation of cultural memory cannot be separated from the voices of those who experienced the defining tragedies of European history.
Among the distinguished literary figures welcomed by the Centre was Anna Felder, recipient of the Swiss Grand Prix for Literature (video). Her presence exemplified RECEPTIO’s desire to bring philological and literary scholarship into direct conversation with living writers and contemporary literary creation.
These events were part of a much wider programme of conferences, interviews, commemorations, lectures, round tables, and public discussions. Together, they made RECEPTIO not only a centre for manuscript and literary studies, but also a place for reflection on memory, freedom of expression, cultural identity, historical responsibility, and the role of intellectuals in contemporary society.
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Courses, Lectures, Conferences and Open Access to Knowledge
From Villa Giambonini, RECEPTIO organised an extensive programme of international conferences, seminars, public lectures, online courses, and scholarly workshops.
Among its educational initiatives was Prof. Sara Ferrari’s course on medieval Hebrew love poetry:
https://www.receptio.eu/poesiaebraica
The Centre also hosted Prof. Mercedes Brea’s course on Galician-Portuguese literature, organised in honour of Prof. Giuseppe Tavani:
https://www.receptio.eu/galego-portoghese
Prof. Emeritus Luciano Rossi of the University of Zurich delivered courses and seminars devoted to the Roman de la Rose, while numerous other internationally recognised scholars contributed lectures on medieval and Renaissance literature, philosophy, philology, art history, manuscript culture, Dante studies, and textual criticism.
Rather than limiting these activities to a small specialist audience, RECEPTIO made many lectures, webinars, courses, conferences, and recordings freely available online. Readers interested in exploring the Centre’s earlier activities are invited to consult the Video Library and the Events Archive, where a substantial part of this educational and scholarly work remains accessible.
The continuing availability of these materials testifies to RECEPTIO’s commitment to open scholarly dissemination and to the idea that advanced academic research should be made accessible not only to specialists, but also to teachers, students, schools, and the wider public.
Throughout its history, RECEPTIO has organised numerous international conferences, symposia, seminars, and interdisciplinary meetings devoted to medieval and Renaissance studies, Romance philology, Dante studies, manuscript culture, history of art, textual criticism, and cultural heritage.
Several of these initiatives have become recurring international events, bringing together scholars from European and overseas universities while encouraging dialogue between academic research and the wider public.
Among the Centre's most significant conferences was Dante e l'economia (2021), an interdisciplinary meeting that explored the economic thought of Dante and the social, political, and ethical dimensions of wealth in medieval culture.
https://www.receptio.eu/dante-e-l-economia
In January 2022 RECEPTIO organised the international conference L'Enigma Caravaggio, commemorating the seventieth anniversary (1951–2021) of Roberto Longhi's landmark exhibition dedicated to Caravaggio. The conference brought together art historians, conservators, philologists, and legal scholars to discuss new perspectives on the painter's work, attribution, reception, and the relationship between art history and judicial investigations.
https://www.receptio.eu/caravaggio
The Centre has also organised numerous conferences devoted to Dante Alighieri. Among the most successful has been the international seminar Conosco i segni dell'antica fiamma. L'amore in Dante: dalla psicopatologia alla metafisica, held in Capri in October 2025 in collaboration with SISD and ISFiDA. The conference brought together specialists from several universities to explore the theme of love in Dante from literary, philosophical, psychological, theological, and artistic perspectives.
https://www.receptio.eu/amore-in-dante
The Capri seminar attracted considerable media attention and was covered by several major Italian newspapers and cultural media, including la Repubblica Napoli, Corriere del Mezzogiorno, Capri Press, and other regional news outlets, reflecting the growing public visibility of RECEPTIO's research and educational activities.
These conferences exemplify RECEPTIO's broader mission: to combine rigorous academic scholarship with public dissemination, international cooperation, and interdisciplinary dialogue, making advanced humanities research accessible to specialists, students, and the wider cultural community.
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Long-Term Research Projects
Alongside its conferences, publications, and educational programmes, RECEPTIO has coordinated a series of long-term interdisciplinary research projects devoted to medieval and Renaissance literature, manuscript culture, codicology, textual criticism, digital humanities, and the history of ideas. Many of these initiatives developed over several years, bringing together international scholars and culminating in books, critical editions, conferences, digital resources, and educational programmes.
Among the Centre's principal research initiatives are:
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Fluidity (2021–2026), an interdisciplinary research project exploring concepts of gender fluidity, identity, transformation, and androgyny in medieval literary and visual culture. The project culminated in the publication of the monograph Medioevo fluido. Identità, androginia e metamorfosi di genere nelle fonti letterarie e iconografiche dell'età di mezzo (Libreriauniversitaria.it, 2026), which presents the principal results of the research.
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Mulier Artifex – Mulier Legens (2022–2026), an international research programme devoted to women as illuminators, artists, patrons, readers, and transmitters of knowledge in medieval and Renaissance Europe. The project resulted first in the English-language monograph Beyond the Margins. Female Illuminators in Medieval and Renaissance Europe (Ethics International Press, 2025), later substantially expanded and reworked for the Italian volume Oltre i margini. Il linguaggio artistico delle miniatrici europee tra Medioevo e Rinascimento (Libreriauniversitaria.it, 2025).
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Biblioteca Femminile Italiana (2016–2025), developed in collaboration with the ICCU – Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo Unico delle biblioteche italiane, with the aim of documenting, cataloguing, and promoting the literary and cultural contribution of women within the Italian written tradition.
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Dante's Women Across the Centuries, an international project investigating the reception and reinterpretation of Dante's female figures across literature, philosophy, art, theatre, and music.
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Lectura Dantis al femminile (2024– ), a continuing programme of scholarly lectures devoted to Dante's female characters from literary, philological, theological, artistic, and historical perspectives.
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Una terzina / Un'immagine (2026– ), an interdisciplinary initiative exploring the relationship between Dante's poetry and visual representation.
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Intertestualità in immagini (2021–2026), an interdisciplinary project examining visual intertextuality in illuminated manuscripts, early printed books, and works of art. Its research on medieval iconography, gender, and textual transmission converged with the Fluidity programme and contributed directly to the publication of Medioevo fluido.
Several earlier projects have now reached completion, while others continue to evolve through new collaborations and publications. Together they illustrate RECEPTIO's commitment to sustained, collaborative research whose outcomes extend beyond conferences into books, digital resources, and long-term scholarly initiatives.
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Schools, Teachers, and Public Engagement
Alongside its research activities, the Centre developed an extensive programme of public engagement and academic outreach.
The Centre organised meetings for lower- and upper-secondary schools, teacher-training courses, webinars for students, guided cultural activities, and personalised online teaching programmes. These initiatives introduced younger audiences to medieval and Renaissance literature, the history of the manuscript book, codicology, philology, and the protection of cultural heritage.
RECEPTIO also promoted the application of philological method to contemporary questions. Particular attention was devoted to critical source analysis, the assessment of documentary evidence, and the recognition of misinformation and false narratives.
The Centre’s work with schools and teachers was based on the principle that philology remains a living method. The ability to compare sources, recognise textual alterations, reconstruct contexts, and distinguish documented evidence from unsupported assertion is as important in the contemporary information environment as it is in the study of medieval texts.
Through these educational initiatives, RECEPTIO sought to connect specialised scholarship with public education and to train new generations of readers capable of approaching texts, images, historical documents, and digital information critically.
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The Journal Theory and Criticism of Literature and Arts
Theory and Criticism of Literature and Arts has remained one of the central elements of the Centre’s history (Presentation of the journal held in Rome, at the Accademia Urbana delle Arti, on 30 November 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG4upxOmeuQ).
The journal was the project around which the original association of philologists, philosophers, art historians, and humanities scholars first gathered in 2016. It subsequently developed alongside the Centre and became a platform for interdisciplinary research in literature, textual criticism, art, philosophy, cultural history, and the humanities.
Its history reflects the continuity of RECEPTIO itself: a scholarly project founded on intellectual independence, international participation, and the conviction that research should not be confined by rigid disciplinary divisions.
The journal continues today as part of the Centre’s publishing and research activities and is published through Éditions Pigouchet.
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International Codicology Seminars (2020–2022)
Between 2020 and 2022, RECEPTIO organised two major international seminar series devoted to codicology and medieval manuscripts, bringing together university professors, researchers, students, librarians, conservators, and manuscript specialists from numerous countries. Conducted online during the COVID-19 pandemic, these seminars enabled uninterrupted international scholarly exchange at a time when access to libraries and archives was severely restricted.
The first cycle, Tesori di Pergamena (Treasures of Parchment), held during 2020–2021, presented manuscripts from across medieval Europe through weekly lectures delivered by leading specialists in codicology, palaeography, manuscript illumination, provenance studies, and medieval literature. Alongside the lectures, participants took part in practical exercises devoted to the identification, localisation, dating, and reconstruction of dismembered manuscripts, introducing the philological methods that would later become central to RECEPTIO's work on digital reconstruction.
The second cycle, Bibles, Gospels, Breviaries and Books of Hours (2021–2022), further expanded the international dimension of the programme. Organised as an open public seminar accompanied by an international call for papers, it brought together specialists working on biblical manuscripts, liturgical books, Books of Hours, and other devotional codices from across Europe. Weekly meetings were held from November 2021 to May 2022, creating a permanent forum for discussion among established scholars, early-career researchers, and independent specialists.
Together, these seminars trained a new generation of codicologists in the integrated use of philology, codicology, palaeography, art history, and provenance research. They also laid the foundations for RECEPTIO's subsequent Summer Schools on Fragmentology and Biblioclasm and for the development of the Centre's methods for the digital reconstruction of dismembered manuscripts.
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Research on Stolen and Dismembered Manuscripts
Research into the dispersion and reconstruction of medieval manuscripts did not begin with the institutional establishment of RECEPTIO.
In 2006, Prof. Carla Rossi initiated an independent and self-funded research programme devoted to identifying, documenting, and virtually reconstructing dismembered manuscripts whose leaves had become dispersed among libraries, museums, private collections, auction houses, antiquarian bookshops, and online marketplaces.
Over the following years, this research generated an extensive documentary archive containing images, descriptions, provenance information, auction records, and codicological, palaeographical, philological, and iconographical analyses relating to thousands of detached manuscript leaves and dispersed codices.
The aim was not simply to catalogue individual fragments. The project sought to develop a rigorous philological method capable of reconnecting detached leaves with the manuscripts from which they originated.
This required the systematic comparison of script, ruling, decoration, textual sequence, dimensions, parchment, iconography, historical documentation, provenance records, and material features. By bringing these elements together, the research made it possible to recognise groups of leaves originating from the same codex and, in some cases, to reconstruct digitally manuscripts that had been physically dismantled.
The method also had a significant provenance dimension. It trained researchers to recognise leaves detached from dismembered manuscripts, to identify fragments with incomplete, undocumented, or potentially illicit provenance, and to trace them back, whenever possible, to their original codices.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when access to physical libraries and archives was severely restricted, Prof. Rossi made this research archive available to RECEPTIO. The Centre was therefore able to consolidate and expand its digital work on manuscript reconstruction and the documentation of biblioclasm for profit.
The resulting research involved the systematic examination of auction catalogues, antiquarian inventories, museum collections, library records, historical photographs, and digital sales platforms. It made it possible to reconnect dispersed leaves with their original manuscripts through a combination of philological, codicological, palaeographical, iconographical, and provenance analysis.
This work subsequently contributed to the establishment of OProM, the Organisation pour la Protection des Manuscrits Médiévaux, and to the expansion of RECEPTIO’s activities in the fields of manuscript protection, provenance research, digital reconstruction, and the preservation of Europe’s written cultural heritage.
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Researchers-in-Residence
From 2021 onwards, RECEPTIO developed an international Researchers-in-Residence programme, welcoming scholars from different countries to its headquarters in Lugano.
The programme was designed for researchers working on medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, works of art preserved in Switzerland, critical editions of literary texts connected with Switzerland, and projects requiring access to the Centre’s specialised library in Romance philology and medieval Italian, French, Spanish, Galician-Portuguese, and Lusitanian literature.
RECEPTIO provided resident scholars with accommodation inside Villa Giambonini, individual working spaces, personal offices, round-the-clock access to the library, and scientific advice for their research projects.
Residents were also invited to participate in conferences, lectures, seminars, and the wider intellectual life of the Centre. The programme was intended to offer scholars the time, space, resources, and collegial environment required to pursue independent research with minimal interruption.
The Researchers-in-Residence programme was internationally advertised through ArtHist.net and other academic networks:
https://arthist.net/archive/34869
Its existence demonstrates that Villa Giambonini was conceived not merely as the Centre’s administrative headquarters, but as an international residence and working environment for scholars.
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Fellowships in Applied Codicology
In 2022, RECEPTIO further expanded its educational mission by launching an international fellowship programme in codicology, offering six annual fellowships for an advanced training course.
The programme formed part of the Centre’s broader project to develop a philological and codicological method for the digital reconstruction of dismembered medieval and Renaissance manuscripts.
Participants were trained to identify leaves detached from their original codices, recognise fragments originating from dismantled manuscripts, assess incomplete or potentially illicit provenance, and reconstruct, through codicological and philological analysis, the manuscripts from which individual leaves had originated.
The programme combined manuscript studies, textual analysis, codicology, palaeography, provenance research, and knowledge of the rare-book and manuscript market.
This training also had a professional application. It prepared codicologists to work in auction houses and antiquarian bookshops, where specialised expertise is essential for the accurate identification, description, contextualisation, and provenance assessment of manuscript material.
The objective was not simply to prepare participants for employment in the commercial book market, but to introduce higher standards of codicological competence and provenance awareness into professional environments in which detached manuscript leaves regularly circulate.
The fellowships were open to established scholars, early-career researchers, doctoral graduates, and qualified candidates with a strong interest in codicology and philology. Applications were assessed according to academic merit, motivation, and the quality of the proposed research trajectory.
The programme was advertised internationally through ArtHist.net:
https://arthist.net/archive/35601
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Publications and Research Projects
During its years in Lugano, RECEPTIO coordinated independent and international research projects, promoted scholarly publications, and contributed to critical editions, catalogues, monographs, and digital reconstruction initiatives devoted to medieval and Renaissance manuscripts and textual traditions.
Since 2016, the Centre has maintained its own publishing activity, initially through RECEPTIO Academic Press Ltd in London and subsequently through other publishing structures connected with its scholarly work.
Publication has always formed part of RECEPTIO’s broader research mission. Books, journal issues, critical editions, catalogues, and digital resources were conceived not as isolated outputs, but as instruments for documenting and disseminating the results of long-term philological, codicological, literary, and historical investigation.
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From Manuscript Research to Cultural Heritage Protection
The research on dismembered manuscripts gradually brought RECEPTIO into the wider field of cultural heritage protection.
The Centre’s work drew attention to the destruction of codices for commercial profit, the circulation of detached leaves, the disappearance of provenance information, and the appearance on the international market of manuscript material originating from public or historical collections.
One of the most important cases investigated concerned Turin, Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria, MS E.V.5. Three illuminated leaves had been removed from the manuscript in 1979 and later appeared on the international art market.
Through archival documents, historical photographs, manuscript analysis, and auction records, the research reconstructed the identity and provenance of these leaves and connected them with the Turin codex.
The case demonstrated the importance of combining philology, codicology, iconography, provenance research, and market documentation. It also showed that the reconstruction of a manuscript can have consequences extending beyond academic research, including the identification of cultural property removed from public collections.
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The Turin Manuscript and the Origins of "ReceptioGate"
By 2022, RECEPTIO had become one of the few independent European research centres combining philological research, manuscript reconstruction, codicology, public outreach, and professional training. It was in this context that the Turin MS E.V.5 investigation acquired an importance extending well beyond academic scholarship.
One of the defining moments in our history arose from its research on Turin, Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria, MS E.V.5, an important illuminated manuscript preserved in the National University Library of Turin.
In 1979, three illuminated leaves were cut from the manuscript and stolen. For decades their whereabouts remained unknown.
In July 2015, two of the stolen leaves reappeared on the international antiquarian market and were offered for sale at Sotheby's London. The auction catalogue describing the leaves was prepared by Peter Kidd. At the time, no connection was made between the leaves and the manuscript mutilated in Turin in 1979.
The three stolen leaves were subsequently recovered by the Italian Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (TPC) and returned to the Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria of Turin in 2018.
Between August and October 2022, Prof. Carla Rossi submitted extensive documentation to the Carabinieri TPC concerning the dismantling and commercial circulation of medieval manuscripts. The Turin MS E.V.5 case formed one of the principal case studies supporting a broader investigation into biblioclasm for profit, namely the systematic dismemberment of manuscripts in order to sell individual leaves separately on the international market.
The documentation argued that the Turin manuscript illustrated structural weaknesses in the control of manuscript provenance and demonstrated how detached leaves originating from public collections could circulate for decades within the antiquarian trade.
According to the criminal complaint subsequently filed with the Italian Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (TPC), the publication of RECEPTIO's findings on Turin MS E.V.5 was followed by a coordinated defamation campaign directed against both the Centre and its Director. As a result, public discussion focused for several years on allegations against the researcher rather than on the documented circulation of stolen manuscript leaves originating from a public library.
Shortly after the submission of the complaint, Peter Kidd, who had authored the Sotheby's catalogue entries describing the three stolen Turin leaves offered for sale in London in July 2015 and who edits the blog Medieval Manuscripts Provenance, publicly accused Prof. Carla Rossi of academic plagiarism. These allegations rapidly diverted public attention away from the issues raised by the research—namely the dismantling of medieval manuscripts, the circulation of detached stolen leaves on the international art market, and the importance of provenance research for the protection of cultural heritage—and towards allegations directed against the researcher herself.
The resulting campaign, subsequently known as "ReceptioGate", dominated online discussion for several years through repeated allegations of plagiarism, coordinated reputational attacks, and sustained personal harassment. According to the documentation submitted to the competent judicial authorities, this campaign obscured the original issue that had prompted the research: the dismantling of medieval manuscripts and the circulation of detached leaves originating from protected cultural heritage. For many scholars who had collaborated with Prof. Carla Rossi over several decades, the accusations were at odds with a long-established academic reputation built through more than thirty years of research, teaching, publications, and international cooperation. The continued participation of established scholars in RECEPTIO's activities throughout this period reflected that confidence and ensured the continuity of the Centre's scientific programme.
A decisive turning point came on 7 January 2026, when the Swiss Federal Administrative Court annulled the administrative measures previously adopted against Prof. Rossi in connection with Kidd's accusations. Following that judgment, attention increasingly returned to the original questions raised by RECEPTIO's work: how leaves removed from Turin MS E.V.5 had circulated on the international market for decades, and how philological and codicological research can contribute to the identification, reconstruction, and protection of Europe's written cultural heritage.
The events surrounding ReceptioGate profoundly affected the Centre's institutional development. During this period, while based in Lugano, the Centre and its Director were subjected to a sustained campaign of harassment, physical threats, and intimidation. Against this background, RECEPTIO relocated its principal activities to Barcelona, where they were subsequently continued through the Institut d'Estudis Filològics Dantescs i Digitals Avançats (ISFiDA). This transition also marked the beginning of a close collaboration with the University of Barcelona, particularly through the Seminario Internazionale di Studi Danteschi (SISD), directed by Prof. Raffaele Pinto, and other joint academic initiatives devoted to Dante studies, Romance philology, and medieval culture. Despite this major institutional reorganisation, the Centre's scientific mission continued without interruption through research, publications, conferences, and international collaborations.
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RECEPTIO and ISFiDA
Through ISFiDA, the Centre maintained and expanded its work in Romance philology, manuscript studies, textual criticism, digital humanities, Dante studies, and cultural heritage research, organising international conferences, seminars, research meetings, and public lectures while maintaining collaborations with scholars and institutions across Europe.
Among the academics who participated in RECEPTIO’s conferences, seminars, courses, and research initiatives were the late Prof. Martin Aurell, a valued friend of the Centre, Prof. Leena Löfstedt, Prof. Philippe Guérin, Prof. Carlo Chiurco, Prof. Lucia Lazzerini, Prof. Antoni Rossell, Prof. Maria Grazia Bonanno, Prof. Romeo Bufalo, Prof. Lucinia Speciale, and many others.
Their participation, together with that of writers, artists, philosophers, teachers, students, and cultural witnesses, reflects the breadth and vitality of the intellectual community that developed around RECEPTIO.
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RECEPTIO Today
Today, RECEPTIO continues its activities through research, publications, conferences, international academic cooperation, public education, and the protection of Europe’s written cultural heritage.
Its video materials, lectures, interviews, conferences, and educational resources can also be consulted through its YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@receptio
Over the course of a decade, the Centre has organised numerous international conferences, seminars, lectures, courses, and scholarly initiatives, attracting specialists from Europe and beyond.
Several events have received attention not only from academic networks but also from the general press, reflecting both the scientific quality and the wider cultural relevance of the research presented.
The Centre collaborates with the competent public authorities responsible for the protection of cultural heritage, including the Italian Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (TPC). Research findings concerning manuscripts removed from public collections have been transmitted through the appropriate institutional channels in accordance with applicable legal procedures.
Ten years after its foundation, RECEPTIO remains committed to independent scholarship, rigorous documentation, intellectual freedom, open access to knowledge, and international academic collaboration.
Its principal fields of activity include:
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Romance philology;
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medieval and Renaissance literature;
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manuscript studies and codicology;
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palaeography;
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textual criticism and critical editions;
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digital humanities;
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Dante studies;
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history of the book;
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art history;
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provenance research;
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cultural heritage protection;
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the reconstruction of dispersed and dismembered manuscripts;
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educational activities for schools, teachers, students, and the public.
From a small association of friends brought together by a scholarly journal in 2016, the Reseach Centre for European Philological Trdition has grown into an international research centre whose work encompasses philology, manuscript studies, codicology, digital humanities, academic publishing, public education, and the protection of Europe's written cultural heritage. The Centre's history is ultimately the history of an international scholarly community united by a shared conviction: that philology remains one of the most powerful instruments for understanding, preserving, and transmitting Europe's cultural memory.
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