Academic literature on the topic 'Lettura (Milan, Italy)'

Abstract Music historians are certainly familiar with the figure of Cardinal Carlo Borromeo. Important research has illuminated his association with the composer Vincenzo Ruffo, his reform of female convents, and, more generally, his influence over the musical life of Milan, including local churches and confraternities; more recently, Borromeo’s relationship with the musician Tomás Luis de Victoria has been closely examined. However, our knowledge of his role as a promoter of the so-called ‘Counter-Reformation’ in music is fragmentary. In particular, a comprehensive investigation of Borromeo’s private correspondence is lacking. In order to fill this lacuna, this article uses newly discovered letters (housed in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan) to illuminate several interrelated aspects of Borromeo’s activity as a patron and reformer in the aftermath of the Council of Trent: firstly, his support for musicians and the much discussed issue of textual intelligibility, and secondly, the prohibition of musical instruments in church and his directives against public musical entertainments.

- This article concerns the Sicilian jurist Francesco d'Aguirre (1682-1745), a prominent figure of the early eighteenth century. A pupil of Gravina in Roma, he played a key role in university reform in Turin under Victor Amadeus II, and was later a leading member of the Giunta del censimento established by Charles VI in Milan. Turchetti examines a catalogue of part of his library (which was sold by his son Vittorio after his death) printed by Antonio Agnelli in 1753 and kept in the Biblioteca Trivulziana in Milan. Tha authoress also examines the correspondence exchange by Aguirre with some of the leading intellectuals of his time, such as Muratori, Lama, Maffei, Metastasio, Cmpailla. These letters illustratee d'Aguirre's cultural interests and throw light on the provenance of some of the books included in the catalogueKey words: Francesco d'Aguirre; Private Libraries; Eighteenth century; Italy; Correspondence.

Resumen:El artículo insiste en el enorme valor pedagógico de aquella carta escrita colectivamente por chicos de montaña con su maestro Lorenzo Milani. Tiene tres apartados: el primero, contextualiza adecuadamente la lectura de la Carta y da cuenta de sus destinatarios y autores reales, del porqué se tradujo a una maestra y no a una profesora, de las dificultades de su traducción y de su recepción en Italia y España. El segundo, señala los rasgos más característicos de la pedagogía de don Milani, con un énfasis especial en la distinción entre la instrucción/aprendizaje y la educación como desarrollo personal. Así como en la relevancia de las relaciones – y el amor - con el mundo, con los otros y el Otro. Finalmente, se exponen de forma sintética algunas de las principales aportaciones de la pedagogía milaniana y de la Carta a una maestra al sistema educativo español actual. Abstract:This paper proclaims the great pedagogical value of that letter collectively written by a few boys from the mountains with their teacher, Lorenzo Milani. The article has three sections: the first one, where the Letter is properly contextualized and its authors as well as whose main audience is clarified. It also explains the reasons behind the translation of the title into Spanish, and how it was received in both Italy and Spain. The second section focuses on the main features of the pedagogy of Mr. Milani, emphasizing particularly the difference between instruction/learning and education as personal development. It also deals with the relevance of relations -love- with the world, with the others and with the Other. The article concludes by sintetizing some of the main contributions of the milanian pedagogy and of the „Letter to a Teacher‟ to the current Spanish educational system.

The article presents the results of an archival search for information regarding Sergey P. Koloshin, a publicist and the publisher of the <i>Zritel obschestvennoy zhizni, literatury i sporta</i> (<i>Spectator of public life, literature and sports</i>) magazine, who went bankrupt in 1863. In the 1860s, he lived in Italy, attempted to collaborate with the <i>Epokha</i> (<i>Epoch</i>) magazine, corresponded with the brothers M. M. and F. M. Dostoevskys, and died on November 27, 1868 in Florence. The discovered documents allow to clarify the time and circumstances of his death. The Russian Empire’s Foreign Policy Archive contains a file regarding the assignment of the transportation the body of the deceased to Milan for burial in the columbarium to Mikhail Orlov, the Archpriest of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Nativity of Christ and St. Nicholas in Florence, who already performed the rite of blessing S. Koloshin. The latter was also entrusted with fulfilling the last will of the deceased, completing his settlements on this Earth, including those with the owner of his rented residence. Her receipt for money received indicates the address of Koloshin's residence in Milan, which is significant in connection with the search for his archive, which probably includes the letters of Dostoevsky. The article also introduces the encrypted telegrams of the Russian mission to Turin into scientific circulation for the first time. These telegrams are signed by the name Koloshin (Kolochine), and the authors suggest that they belong either to Sergey’s brother, Dmitry Pavlovich, junior secretary of the Russian mission in Brussels, or to Ivan Petrovich Koloshin, Resident Master of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire, cousin of S. P. Koloshin. He could have also provided the documents from the personal archive of S. P. Koloshin, which likely included letters from Dostoevsky.

- It is now a few years since the enactment of the Lombard Regional Law n. 12/2005 «for urban and regional governance of the area» and many municipalities have commenced procedures (but not many have completed them, despite the threat of Art 25, letter C.1, according to which «municipal urban planning regulations in force remain valid [...] for not longer than four years following the entry into force of this law)» to replace the now old municipal general plans which nevertheless represented «the only true form of planning in Italy for almost 40 years» (Oliva, 2005). The time has now come to examine the value in practice of this ‘consolidated law', enacted by the Lombard legislature in 2005, in order to understand if it has succeeded, according to the aspirations of the initial intentions, in governing the urban complexity of such a complex region. The Giussano (a large municipality located in the Brianza Milanese area) general plan and its environmental assessment is set in this context and both were completed by the Department of Planning and Architecture of the Polytechnic of Milan well ahead of the deadlines set by the Regional Law n. 12/2005.

By Stein Edith: Zum problem der Einfühlung, Niemeyer, Halle 1917, Reprint der OriginalausgabeKaffke, München 1980, trad. it. Il problema dell’empatia, trad. di E. Costantini e E. Schulze Costantini, Studium, Roma 1985. Beiträge zur philosophischen Begründ der Psychologie und Geisteswissen schaften: a) Psychische Kausalität; b)Individuum und Gemeinschaft, «Jahrbuch für Philosophie und phänomenologische Forschung», vol. 5, Halle 1922, pp. 1-283, riedito da Max Niemeyer, Tübingen 1970, trad. it. Psicologia e scienze dello spirito. Contributi per una fondazione filosofica, trad. di A. M. Pezzella, pref. di A. Ales Bello, Città Nuova, Roma 1996. Was ist Phänomenologie?, in Wissenschaft/Volksbildung, supplemento scientifico al «Neuen Pfälzischen Landes Zeitung», n. 5, 15 maggio 1924; è stato pubblicato nella rivista «Teologie und Philosophie», 66 (1991), pp. 570-573; trad. it. Che cosa è la fenomenologia? in La ricerca della verità – dalla fenomenologia alla filosofia cristiana, a cura di A. Ales Bello, Città Nuova, Roma 1993, pp. 55-60. Endliches und ewiges Sein. VersucheinesAufstiegszum Sinn des Sein (ESW II), hrsg. von L. Gelber und R. Leuven, Nauwelaerts-Herder, Louvain-Freiburg 1950, trad. it. Essere finito e essere eterno. Per una elevazione al senso dell’essere, trad. it. di L. Vigone, rev. di A. Ales Bello, Città Nuova, Roma 1988. Welt und Person. BeträgezumchristlichenWahrheitstreben (ESW VI), hrsg. von L. Gelber und R. Leuven, Newelaerts – Herder, Louvain – Freiburg 1962, trad. it. Natura, persona, mistica. Per una ricerca cristiana della verità, trad. it. di T. Franzoni, M. D’Ambra e A. M. Pezzella, a cura di A. Ales Bello, Città Nuova, Roma 1999. AusdemLebeneinerjüdischenFamilie (ESW VII), Herder, Freiburg i. Br. 1987, trad. it. Storia di una famiglia ebrea. Lineamenti autobiografici: l’infanzia e gli anni giovanili, Città Nuova, Roma 1992. Einführung in die Philosophie (ESW XIII), hrsg. von L. Gelber und M. Linssen, Herder, Freiburg i. Br. 1991, trad. it. Introduzione alla filosofia di A. M. Pezzela, pref. di A. Ales Bello, Città Nuova, Roma 1998. Briefean Roman Ingarden 1917-1938 (ESW XIV), Einleitung von H. B. Gerl-Falkovitz, Anmerkungen von M. A. Neyer, hrsg. von L. Gelber und M. Linssen, Herder, Freiburg i. Br. 1991, trad. it. Lettere a Roman Ingarden, trad. it. di E. Costantini e E. Schulze Costantini, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Città del Vaticano 2001. Potenz und Akt. StudienzueinerPhilosophie des Seins (ESW XVIII), bearbeitet und miteinerEinfürungversehen von H. R. Sepp, hrsg. von L. Gelber und M. Linssen, Herder, Freiburg i. Br. 1998, trad. it. Potenza e atto. Studi per una filosofia dell’essere, trad. di A. Caputo, pref. di A. Ales Bello, Città Nuova, Roma 2003. By others on Edith Stein and Empathy: Albiero, Paolo and Matricardi Giada, Che cos’è l’empatia, Carocci, Roma, 2006. Ales Bello, Angela, Empathy, a return to reason, in The self and the other. The irreducibile element in a man. Part I, ed. by A. T. Tymieniecka, Dordrecht-Boston, Reidel Publishing Company, in «Analecta Husserliana», 6 (1977), pp. 143-149. – Edith Stein: da Edmund Husserl a Tommaso D’Aquino. In Memorie Domenicane, n. 7, n.s., 1976. – Edmund Husserl e Edith Stein. La questione del metodo fenomenologico, in «Acta Philosophica», 1 (1992), pp. 167-175. – Fenomenologia dell’essere umano – Lineamenti di una filosofia al femminile, Città Nuova, Roma 1992. – Analisi fenomenologica della volontà. Edmund Husserl ed Edith Stein, in «Per la filosofia», 1994, n. 31, pp. 24-29. – Lo studio dell’anima fra psicologia e fenomenologia in Edith Stein, in Sogno e mondo, Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, Napoli 1995, pp. 7-25. – Edith Stein. Invito alla lettura, Edizioni San Paolo, Milano 1999. – Edith Stein, Piemme, Casale Monferrato 2000. – Empatia e dialogo: un’analisi fenomenologica, in A. DENTONE (a cura di), Dialogo, silenzio, empatia, Bastoni Editrice Italiana, Foggia 2000, pp. 65-85. – L’universo nella coscienza. Introduzione alla fenomenologia di Edmund Husserl, Edith Stein, Hedwig Conrad-Martius, Edizioni ETS, Pisa 2003. – Persona e Stato in Edith Stein in D’Ambra, Michele(a cura di), Edith Stein. Una vita per la verità, «Quaderni dell’AIES», n. 1, Edizioni OCD, Roma 2005. – Edith Stein: lo spirito umano in cammino verso la santità in D’Ambra, Michele(a cura di), Edith Stein.Lo Spirito e la santità, «Quaderni dell’AIES», n. 2, Edizioni OCD, Roma 2007. Alfossi, Maura. et al., Guarire o curare? Comunicazione ed empatia in medicina, La Meridiana, Molfetta (BA), 2008. Balzer, Carmen, The Empathy Problem in Edith Stein, in Huusserlian Phenomenology in a New Key. Intersubjectivity, Ethos, the Social Sphere, Human Encouter, Pathos, ed. by A. T. Tymieniecka, Kluwe Academic Publisher, Dordrecht-Boston-London, in «AnalectaHusserliana», 35 (1991), pp. 271-278. Baron-Cohen, Simon., La scienza del male. L’empatia e le origini della crudeltà, Cortina, Milano, 2012. Bellingreri, Antonio, Per una pedagogia dell’empatia, Vita e Pensiero, Milano, 2005. Bettinelli, Carla,Il pensiero di Edith Stein. Dalla fenomenologia alla scienza della Croce, Vita e Pensiero, Milano 1976. – Il problema dell’Einfülung, in «Hermeneutica», 9 (1989), pp. 291-304. – La fenomenologia, uno sguardo sulla verità, in «Aquinas», 37 (1994), pp. 377-386. – L’itinerario di Edith Stein: dalla psicologia alla metafisica, alla mistica, in «Letture», 32 (1997), pp. 505-524. Boella, Laura and Buttarelli Annarosa,Per amore di altro. L’empatia a partire da Edith Stein, Raffaello Cortina Editore, Milano 2000. – Grammatica del sentire. Compassione, Simpatia, Empatia, CUEN, Milano, 2004. Bonino, Silvia, et al. (a cura di), Empatia. I processi di condivisione delle emozioni, Giunti, Firenze, 1998. Bronzino, Cristina, Sentire insieme. Le forme dell’empatia, ArchetipoLibri, Bologna, 2010. Challita, Marie, The empathic brain as the neural basis of moral behaviour Presented from interdisciplinary perspectives, Dissertatio ad Doctoratum in Facultate Bioethicæ Pontificii Athenæi Regina Apostolorum, Rome 2014. Cerri Musso, Renza,La pedagogia dell’Einfühlung. Saggio su Edith Stein, La Scuola, Brescia, 1955. Costantini, Elio,Einfühlung und Intersubjektivitätbei Edith Stein und bei Husserl, in The Great Chain of Being and Italian Phenomenology, in «AnalectaHusserliana»,, 11 (1981), pp. 335-339. – Edith Stein. Profilo di una vita vissuta alla ricerca della verità, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Città del Vaticano 1987. – Note sull’empatia nell’approccio interpersonale, in «Aquinas», 30 (1987), pp. 135-140. – L’empatia, conoscenza dell’”Io” estraneo, in «Studium», 86 (1990), pp. 73-91. D’Ambra, Michele,Il mistero e la persona nell’opera di Edith Stein, in «Aquinas», 34 (1997), pp. 581-591. D’Ippolito, Maria Bianca,L’analisi fenomenologica dell’anima, in«Aquinas», 41 (1997), pp. 61-67. De Waal Frans., L’età dell’empatia. Lezioni della natura per una società più solidale, Garzanti, Milano, 2011. Di Muzio, Luigi Carlo,I giorni della verità. La vicenda di Edith Stein, La sorgente, Vicenza, 1974. Epis, Massimo,Io, anima, persona nella fenomenologia di Edith Stein, in «Teologia», 27 (2000), pp. 52-70. – Fenomenologia della soggettività, LED, Milano 2003. Fidalgo, Antonio,Edith Stein, Theodor Lipps und die Einfühlungsproblematik, in R. L. FETZ - M. RATH – P. SHULZ(hrsgg.), Studien zur Philosophie von Edith Stein – Internationales Edith-Stein-Symposion Eichstätt 1991, in «Phänomenologische Forschungen», 26/27, 1993, pp. 90-106. Fortuna Federico, Tiberio Antonio, Il mondo dell’empatia. Campi di applicazioni, Franco Angeli, Milano, 20012. Freedberg David and Gallese Vittorio, Movimento, emozione ed empatia nell’esperienza estetica. In Teorie dell’immagine. Il dibattito contemporaneo, a cura di Pinotti, Andrea and Somaini Antonio Cortina, Milano, 2009. Galeazzi, Umberto., La lezione di Husserl nell’itinerario di ricerca di Edith Stein, in «Hermeneutica», 1989, n. 9, pp. 363-384. Galofaro, Joseph,La tesi di laurea sull’empatia, in «Rivista di Vita Spirituale», 41 (1987), pp. 255-261. Gamarra, Daniel, Edith Stein: il problema dell’empatia, in «Divus Thomas», 91 (1988), pp. 181-189. Geiger, Mattis, Sul problema dell’empatia di stati d’animo, in Besoli, Stefano and Guidetti, Luca, (a cura di) Il realismo fenomenologico. Sulla filosofia dei circoli Monaco e Gottinga, Quodlibet, Macerata 2000. – Essenza e significato dell’empatia, in Pinotti, Andrea (a cura di) Estetica ed Empatia. Antologia, Guerini e associati, Milano. 1997. Ghigi, Nicoletta, L’orizzonte del sentire in Edith Stein, Nimesis, Milano-Udine, 2011. Giusti, Edoardo and Locatelli, Maura, L’empatia integrata. Analisi Umanistica del comportamento motivazionale nella clinica e nella formazione, Sovera, Roma 2000. Giordano, Maria, Ripensare il processo empatico, Franco Angeli, Milano, 2004. Herbstrith, Waltraud,Edith Stein: una donna per il nostro secolo, Vita e Pensiero, Milano 1971. Hoffman, Martin,Empatia e sviluppo morale, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2008. Hughes, John,Edith Stein’s Doctoral Thesis on Empathy and the Philosophical Climate from which emerged, in «Theresianum», 36 (1985), pp. 455-484. Kohut, Heinz,Introspezione ed empatia: raccolta di scritti (1959-1981) (a cura di) A. CARUSI, Boringhieri, Torino, 2003. Körner,Reinhard,L’ Empatia nel senso di Edith Stein. Un atto fondamentale della persona nel processo cristiano della fede, in SLEIMAN J. – L.BORRIELLO (edd.), Edith Stein. Testimone di oggi profeta per domani, atti del Simposio Internazionale, Teresianum (Roma) 7-9/10/1998, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Città del Vaticano 1999, pp. 159-180. Lavigne,Jean François,Da Husserl a Tommaso D’Aquino: la nozione di anima in Edith Stein in BUCARELLI M. – D’Ambra, Michele (a cura di), Fenomenologia e personalismo, Edizioni Nuova Cultura, Roma 2008. Lombardo, Gaetano, Edith Stein, il problema della coscienza tra empatia e interiorità, tesi di Laurea (July 7, 2009), Università degli studi di Messina, Italy. Manganaro, Patrizia, L’Einfühlung nell’analisi fenomenologica di Edith Stein, in «Aquinas», 43 (2000), pp. 101-121. – Empatia, Messaggero di S. Antonio Editrice, Padova 2014. Pancaldo, Diego,L’amore come dono di sé. Antropologia filosofica e spiritualità in Edith Stein, Pontificia Università Lateranense, Roma 2003. Paolinelli, Marco,Antropologia e “metafisica cristiana” in Edith Stein, in «Rivista di Filosofia Neoscolastica», 93 (2001), pp. 580-615. – Natura, spirito, individualità in Edith Stein, in D’Ambra, Michele (a cura di), E. Stein. Lo Spirito e la santità, «Quaderni dell’AIES», n. 2, a cura di Miche le D’ambra, Edizioni OCD, Roma 2007. Pezzella, Anna Maria, Edith Stein fenomenologa, in «Aquinas», 37 (1994), pp. 359-365. – Edith Stein e la questione antropologica, in «Per la filosofia», 17 (2000), n. 49, pp. 39-45. – L’antropologia filosofica di Edith Stein – indagine fenomenologica della persona umana, Città Nuova, Roma 2003. Pinotti, Andrea, (a cura di) Estetica ed Empatia. Antologia, Guerini e associati, Milano. 1997. – Storia di un’idea da Platone al postumano, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2011. Rainone, Antonella, La riscoperta dell’empatia. Attribuzioni intenzionali e comprensione della filosofia analitica. Bibliopis, Napoli, 2005. Rifkin,Jeremy, La Civiltà dell’empatia. La corsa verso la coscienza globale nel mondo in crisi. Mondadori, Milano, 2010. Scherini, Marisa,Le determinazioni del finito in Edith Stein. La natura, il vivente, l’uomo, Edizioni OCD, Roma 2008. Schulz, Peter,Il concetto di coscienza nella fenomenologia di E. Husserl e E. Stein, in «Aquinas», 39 (1996), pp. 291-305. Secretan,Philibert,Il problema della persona in Edith Stein, in MELCHIORRE V. (a cura di), L’idea di persona, Vita e Pensiero, Milano 1996, pp. 325-341. Sinagra, Rosa, Empatia: la chiave di Edith Stein. Soggetto femminile in bioetica, Falco editore, Cosenza, 2006. StuberKarsten, L’empatia, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2010. Tommasi, Francesco Valerio,Lo sviluppo del dibattito fenomenologico: idealismo e realismo nel pensiero di Edith Stein, in«Aquinas», 45 (2002), pp. 171-186. Trentini, Cristina, Rispecchiamenti. L’amore materno e le basi neurobiologiche dell’empatia, Il Pensiero Scientifico Editore, Roma, 2008. Trevarthen, Colwyn, Empatia e biologia. Psicologia, Cultura e Neuroscienze, Cortina, Milano, 1998. Vanni Rovighi, Sofia,La figura e l’opera di Edith Stein, in «Studium», 60 (1954), pp. 554-568. Vigone, Luciana,Introduzione al pensiero filosofico di Edith Stein, Città Nuova, Roma 19912. Worringer, Wilhelm, Astrazione e Empatia. Un contributo alla psicologia dello stile, nuova edizione (a cura di) Pinotti, Andrea, Einaudi, Torino, 2008..

Among the 19th century literary salons an important role is played by that of the countess Clara Maffei, not only for its long duration (52 years) and its European reputation. It’s a private meeting point, the heart of Milan where aristocrats, intellectuals and burgeois gather together. The four personalities involved are: the two founders Andrea and Clara Maffei, Giuseppe Verdi and his wife Giuseppina Verdi Strepponi with their correspondence. This epistolar exchange consists of more than 600 documents, partly wellknown and published and partly unpublished (Clara’s letters conserved in Sant’Agata archives). Very important is the correspondence between Verdi and Clara. Andrea Maffei (Molina di Ledro 1798 – Milano 1885) stands out in the Italian culture of the mid nineteenth century: connoisseur of poets and theatre beyond the Alps, he spreads in Italy the International taste with many translations from german, his second language (from Klopstock to the theatre of Schiller) and English authors: he is friend of many artists and he represents actively the consonance among literature, art and music. He offers to Verdi, received in the salon in 1842, formative relationships with intellectuals and artists and personally a lively school of cultural and theatre taste, guiding him in the choice of subjects, he composes for Verdi the libretto of I Masnadieri and he makes the fantasy arrangements of the witches in Macbeth. Chiara Carrara Spinelli (Bergamo 1814 – Milano 1886) is a fascinating creature, cultured and quivering of emotions and ideals. She has a vocation in receiving and listening, she offered all kinds of spiritual, material and social assistance. The relationship between Clara and Verdi is based on a confidential, noble, without reserve friendship. A friendship that grows in the distance, as for 20 years Verdi stays away from Milan, and he will see Clara again in 1868 during the visit at Manzoni. But her letters marks a thread with old and new friends of the salon, and herself, who adores and spends time with Manzoni, stimulates the cult of Verdi for this personality with continuous news and pushes him to a meeting. During the two stays in Sant’Agata she captures intimate moments of Verdi’s life. He represents for Clara the maximum ambition of art and ethics, and she is proud of sharing his choices, reassured about her apprehensions and weakness. Verdi opens his heart to Clara and facilitates the correspondence between Clara and Peppina who will become close friends.

The main tendency characterizing the development of language in Lombardy in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries is the formation of a koiné. The extent to which Milan influenced the Lombard koiné is the subject of ongoing debate. On the one hand, scholars suggest that Milan provided a centralizing force for the “Milanization” of other Lombard vernaculars, similar to what occurred for Piedmont and the Veneto. On the other hand, studies have pointed out that Milan was not a centralizing force for the Lombard koiné and that it remains to be verified whether the prestige of Milanese influenced non-Milanese vernaculars. This paper looks at the extent to which Milan influenced the koiné in fifteenth-century Lombardy. I consider eight linguistic items, previously described as unique to the vernacular of Pavia, to verify their presence or absence in a corpus of religious writings from the fifteenth-century nun Elisabetta of Pavia and whether Milanese items can be identified. I consider aspects of phonology and morphology in Elisabetta’s letters and conclude that her language is best characterized as a pre-koiné. The article concludes by arguing for less emphasis on the role of Milan in histories of the vernacular in Lombardy. This finding has implications for the history of non-literary writing in northern Italy and the importance attributed to capital cities in processes of koineization.

The 1896-1901 Milanese period is a key one to understand Einstein’s training background. When he was a student at the ETH in Zürich (the Swiss Federal Polytechnic in Zürich) from 1896 to 1900, he would make regular trips back to Milan to stay with his family who was involved in the development of the electricity industry in northern Italy. Between 1899 and 1901, he would meet his faithful friend and collaborator, Michele Besso in Milan on a regular basis. Given their relationship, the 1899-1901 Milanese period therefore foreshadowed the Bern period. In order to specify the circumstances under which Einstein and Besso got the chance to meet, we will show that their respective families did have interconnected social networks, especially through the electricity sector and the polytechnic engineering Universities of Zürich and Milan. The branch of the Cantoni family, on Michele’s mother’s side, rather ignored by now, played a crucial role: with Vittorio Cantoni, a renowned electrical engineer who had not been previously identified as being Michele’s uncle, and Giuseppe Jung, professor at the Milan Politecnico. We will also show that when staying in Milan, Einstein, who lived in a well-knownMilanese palace in the heart of the city, worked in the nearby rich library of the Istituto Lombardo, Accademia di Scienze e Lettere in Brera. The linkage between the scientific observations which can be found in Einstein’s correspondence and this library collection sheds new light on his scientific work, in particular on his original thesis.