THE UNPUBLISHED CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN UGO BIANCHI AND IOANPETRUCULIANU
THE UNPUBLISHED CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN UGO BIANCHI AND IOANPETRUCULIANU

Summary/Abstract: The scientific correspondence between Ugo Bianchi and Ioan Petru Culianu, stretching over more than 13 years, represents a most welcome historiographical opportunity for anyone attempting to sketch an accurate intellectual and academic profile of the Romanian-born historian of religions, or to study his scholarly interactions within the so-called post-Pettazzoni school in the history of religions and investigate the manner in which his thematic orientation is synchronised with the general trends of the discipline, establishing an epistemologically based chronology. This endeavour is best supplemented by an analysis of the important letter exchange between Mircea Eliade and Ioan Petru Culianu, edited in 20041, a source of prime importance as the two exchanges * I present here my 2006 paper without major changes, as the second half contains comments related to the discussion on the second edition of the Encyclopedia of Religion (Lindsay JONES ed., Detroit, etc.: Macmillan/Thomson, 2005). Furthermore, the current preparation of the full correspondence between Ugo Bianchi and Ioan Petru Culianu, to be published in one volume, is another reason for keeping my presentation in the initial 2006 form. I must also mention that the correspondence between Ioan Petru Culianu and Mircea Eliade, and between Ugo Bianchi and Ioan Petru Culianu, transparent in Culianu's scientific background, as well as his numerous contributions to EoR (1986), make for a historiographic support which any future monograph on his work and personality will have to take into account. For their help with the analysis and understanding of this correspondence, I am grateful to Tereza CULIANU-PETRESCU and Dan PETRESCU, Adriana BIANCHI GIORGI and the Bianchi family, professors Giovanni CASADIO, Giulia Sfameni GASPARRO and Maria Vittoria CERUTTI. Finally, thanks to Irina Ichim for her skilful translation of the notes to the letters and for reviewing the text in English, and to my colleague Eugen Ciurtin for his suggestions, encouragements, and corrections in the process of editing this article.

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