Title : Buddhism in Italy in The Nineteenth Century

Author(s) : Paolo Euron

Pages : 71-89

Abstract in English : First reports on Buddhism arrived in Italy
in the sixteenth century through Italian
Catholic missionaries. Later several
scholars developed a philological and
philosophical understanding of it. The
attitude toward Buddhism changed from
an anthropological interest to a
philological study. In the academic field of
philology the Theravāda tradition and the
Siamese edition of Tripitaka had great
importance. The spread of Buddhism in
Italy in the nineteenth century also
increasingly influenced Italian culture and
ideas. Outside of academic debate
Buddhism became a subject of apologetics
and philosophy as well as a topic of
general interest. This essay is based on
books and printed material published in
Italy before the twentieth century. It
contains the complete bibliography of
Italian studies on Buddhism in the
nineteenth century. Some texts cited in this
essay are unpublished or rare documents
from Italian archives.