The Project
The project so far
The TeLPh project was born to shed light on the role of northern and central Italian universities as cultural crossroads where philosophy, science, law, and medicine were taught and studied in close connection with the urban life of the communes and the Mendicants’ studia. The project aims to examine how the Latin-speaking educational system of masters and students intersected and blended with vernacular literature and the practical teachings of urban lay schools. More broadly, it seeks to challenge the prevailing assumptions about the history of medieval philosophy and our shared cultural heritage.
The research group for the TeLPh project was established in the autumn of 2020, when we began developing proposals and ideas to create a unified project. The original group included Costantino Marmo, Francesco Bellucci, Cecilia Panti, Riccardo Saccenti, Andrea Tabarroni, and Irene Zavattero, representing the universities of Bologna, Rome Tor Vergata, Bergamo, Udine, and Trento, respectively.
The project evolved gradually throughout 2021. To guarantee a comprehensive and multifaceted investigation, each unit within the group defined a particular research focus in accordance with the proponents’ academic interests. The Rome Tor Vergata unit concentrated on the quadrivial arts, the Bergamo unit examined teaching institutions and university statutes, the University of Bologna focused on the trivium, the University of Trento explored ethical questions and civic governance, and the University of Udine investigated quodlibetal and disputed questions.
We decided to submit our proposal to the PRIN 2022 call of the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR), selecting Cecilia Panti as the Principal Investigator. For our project title, “Teaching and Learning Philosophy in the Regnum Italiae (1250–1450): From Exception to European Heritage,” we chose the acronym TeLPh. The project falls under the main ERC field SH – Social Sciences and Humanities.
The TeLPh project underwent evaluation and was ultimately awarded funding as a PRIN 2022 project. Its unique identifier is 20224WA39R.
In October 2023, all units received funding. Progressively, the team initiated the recruitment of research assistants, including Francesco Cagliani (Bergamo), Matteo Stettler (Bologna), Jacopo Lohs (Trento), Laura Cesco Frare (Udine), Francesco de Benedittis (Rome Tor Vergata), and Stefano Pelizzari (Bergamo).
We are ready to share the scope of our project and explore opportunities for academic collaboration. Cecilia Panti and Costantino Marmo officially presented the project at the workshop “Database per lo studio delle popolazioni accademiche in Italia” held at the University of Bologna on March 7–8, 2024.
At the conference “Matematica, scienza e medicina nel Regnum Italiae” held in Rome on December 5–6, 2024, the TeLPh research group officially launched the ARTES (Archive and Repository of Texts and Statutes) database.
The International Conference “Desiring Knowledge. Philosophy in Bologna and the Regnum Italiae (1250-1450)” held in Bergamo presented the overall results of the PRIN 2022 TeLPh Project, in collaboration with the Societas Artistarum.
Conclusion of the TeLPh project and official launch of ARTES (Archive and Repository of Texts and Statutes), the open-access database of masters, works, and normative texts from the university milieus of thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Italy.
Our goals
TELPh’s primary goal is to shed new light on northern and central Italian universities as cultural crossroads where philosophy, sciences, law, and medicine were taught and learned in close connection with the urban context of the communes and the studia of the Mendicant Orders.
TELPh seeks to explore how the Latin-speaking educational system of masters and students interacts with the Vernacular literature and the practical teachings of the secular city schools, fostering unique cultural exchanges.
TELPh aims to challenge central assumptions about the history of medieval philosophy and its enduring influence on our cultural heritage.
Methods applied
TeLPh adopts an innovative transdisciplinary methodology, combining different disciplinary perspectives and pursuing a research strategy, which reflects its interdisciplinary subject and goals of the project. The methodology rests on four foundational pillars:
TeLPh approaches medieval philosophical production as part of a broader, multifaceted, and interdisciplinary cultural framework. This method examines both the linguistic dimension, encompassing Latin and Vernacular languages, and the cultural dimension, which integrates academic and non-academic contributions.
In order to contextualize philosophical production within both material and immaterial cultural heritage, TeLPh merges tools from manuscript studies, textual critique, and digital humanities with doctrinal analysis. This includes exploring forms of literary production, teaching methods, and philosophical lexicography.
TeLPh examines the relationship between the past and present as a dynamic set of possibilities. By engaging with the cultural plurality of contemporary Europe, as well as its cooperative scholarly framework, the project deepens our understanding of the late medieval and early modern development of philosophical knowledge.
Task-oriented research activities harness the expertise and resources of the participating research units. TeLPh also promotes dissemination initiatives in fostering collaboration with leading institutions specialized in digital cultural heritage management and enhancement.