Folie - Folly and the feminine in the Renaissance

ID Call: HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01 MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships

Sapienza's role in the project: Host Institution

Supervisor: Gaetano Lettieri

Fellow: Maria Fallica

Department: History, Anthropology, Religion, Arts and Performing Arts 

Project start date: May 1, 2023

Project end date: April 30, 2026

Abstract:

"Folie - Folly and the Feminine in the Renaissance" examines the ways in which Erasmus and other key figures of the French and Italian Renaissance, influenced by the paradigm constructed by the great Dutch humanist, presented the mask of the feminine fool as a tool to express and reveal truths. This approach will redefine the construction of the “feminine” in Renaissance Europe  by reflecting on the revelatory, positive value of “folly”, intended theologically as the language of simple, scandalous truths.

The project will be carried out in collaboration with Florida State University.