Abstract

In a short article on the practice of psychoanalysis in Italy, Sergio Benvenuto observes that the country has never been considered a central hub for the development and diffusion of the discipline. As a result, he notes, "very few are interested in Italian psychoanalysis: up until now, Italy has not produced as many famous 'masters' in this field as has Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, Great Britain, the US, and other countries."1Although Benvenuto is right in claiming that the psychoanalytic panorama in Italy is less active and variegated than in other contexts, the outstanding figure of Elvio Fachinelli suffices—I believe—to challenge the prejudice of Italy as a country where the couch has never been in...