The Embassy of the Order of Malta to the Holy See, with IF Press and in collaboration with Fr Manlio Sodi, President Emeritus of the Pontifical Academy of Theology, presents a new edition of the “De Europa” by Enea Silvio Piccolomini, who became Pope under the name of Pius II.
The volume was presented at the Embassy (Casa Litta-Palazzo Orsini, Via di Monte Savello 30) on Wednesday, May 15 by His Eminence Card. Ravasi and by the President Emeritus of the Constitutional Court Prof. Giuliano Amato, with the participation of HE the Grand Chancellor Prof. Riccardo Paternò di Montecupo and HMEH the Grand Master of the Order of Malta Frà John T. Dunlap.
The work of the great humanist who was Pius II was for the first time translated into Italian 15 years ago and, enriched by an illuminating text by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, it was dedicated and donated by President Giorgio Napolitano to His Holiness Benedict XVI to underline a deeply European cultural matrix that characterized both the President of the Italian Republic and the Pontiff. Printed in a few hundred copies, the work has quickly run out and the new edition wants to propose it again at a time of great tensions and equally great uncertainties about the future of Europe which, as in the time of Pius II, today is seeking a renewed political and cultural identity.
“… extraordinary gestures of attention, of esteem and friendship offered by His Holiness Pope Francis on the occasion of the recent death of President Napolitano bring up to the actuality the fruitful collaboration that the Holy See and the Pontificate have over the centuries offered to the creation of cultural identity and ethos european. In years in which we wonder about the ways of integration and collaboration between Member States of the European Union and about the mission of that same Union in a world troubled by countless conflicts and struggling with the ebb and flow of globalization, it is useful to return to the question of the meaning of European values and their influence on a global level” writes the Grand Master of the Order of Malta in his preface, Frà John T. Dunlap, who also pointed out that the Order of Malta had for many centuries been an integral, and not secondary, part of the history of Europe.
In the beautiful preface of the late President Giorgio Napolitano we read:
“The narrative, the great ride on the continent at the time of Frederick III makes with surprising immediacy return to mind the words of a great French historian, Lucien Febvre, who in his book “Europe. Genesis of a civilization” writes: «… Europe in this sense, as we define it, as we study it, is a creation of the Middle Ages; a historical unity that, like all historical units, is made of diversity, of pieces, of pieces torn from previous historical units, in turn made of pieces, of pieces, of pieces, of fragments of previous units».
The Europe of Enea Silvio in fact evokes the magmatic process with which a still medieval world is starting to search for common parameters, shared values, an identity different from the mere juxtaposition of the various “shards” that made up Europe at that time.”
In his profound and evocative text, Cardinal Ravasi speaks of “geopolitical Europe” anticipating by fifteen years the program evoked by Ursula von der Leyen at the beginning of his presidency of the European Commission. The Cardinal also recalls the visionary gesture of Pius II when, at the end of 1461, he decided to “send an Epistula to Mahometem, that is, an official letter to the Sultan Muhammad II, whose profile is known to us through the efficace portrait of the Venetian painter Gentile Bellini. It was a paper that attempted a somewhat particular interreligious dialogue, obviously linked to that cultural and spiritual climate. The Turkish sultan received the crown of Emperor of all the Lands of the East as long as he converted to Christianity, whose theological superiority was demonstrated through a meticulous apologetic treatment.”
Zanardi Landi underlines how Pius II was responsible for introducing the term “Europe” as a geographical, geopolitical and cultural identity term.
“Nunc in Europa, id est in patria, in domo propria, in sede nostra percussi cesique sumus”. Here is the cry of Enea Silvio after the fall of Constantinople before the Turkish advance. What better way than these words can make alive the idea of Europe that pervades the entire work of the great humanist?
“Europe” was then a new concept, taken from Clas- sic antiquity and reintroduced in the language learned by Nicolò V, to whom in De Europa are dedicated very beautiful pages that outline the figure of patron of artists and writers and promoter of studies and research. The fall of Constantinople gives this term learned and sought an emotional and political value that continues to this day.”
It is true that the narration of De Europa takes place under a great and threatening cloud constituted by the Turkish danger, which loomed then as growing and terrible, and which was seen and lived with a mixture of fear and fascination, as you can see in the beautiful description of the clash between the armies of Sultan Murad II with those of John Hunyadi also evoked in the essay of Cardinal Ravasi.” Even today, clouds are gathering over Europe and deciding how to face difficult times can only be based on the study of the past and on reflection on the contours of one’s own identity.
It is true that the narration of De Europa takes place under a great and threatening cloud constituted by the Turkish danger, which loomed then as growing and terrible, and which was seen and lived with a mixture of fear and fascination, as you can see in the beautiful description of the clash between the armies of Sultan Murad II with those of John Hunyadi also evoked in the essay of Cardinal Ravasi.” Even today, clouds are gathering over Europe and deciding how to face difficult times can only be based on the study of the past and on reflection on the contours of one’s own identity.
In addition to the High Offices of the Order’s Government and the Grand Prior of Rome with the Directives of the Grand Priory, to the very succesfull Presentation took part 37 Diplomatic Representations, 20 Vatican journalists, the Director of the “La Civiltà Cattolica” Nuno da Silva Gonçalves S.J. and several representatives of the Italian and pontifical academic scene.