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An Overview 2016 © 2016, Fondazione Internazionale Balzan, Milano [ Printed in Italy ISSN 2240-4406 Contents International Balzan Foundation The Balzan Prizewinners’ Research Projects: An Overview 2016 © 2016, Fondazione Internazionale Balzan, Milano [www.balzan.org] Printed in Italy ISSN 2240-4406 Contents The International Balzan Foundation ...................................................... Pag. 5 The Balzan Prizewinners’ Research Projects: An Overview Introduction by the Chairman of the Balzan General Prize Committee Salvatore Veca .............................................................................................. » 9 Editor’s Note ................................................................................................ » 11 The Balzan Prizewinners’ Research Projects (2011-2015) Literature, Moral Sciences, and the Arts ........................................... » 15 Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, and Medicine .......... » 69 The Balzan Prizewinners’ Research Projects (2001-2010) Literature, Moral Sciences, and the Arts ........................................... » 99 Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, and Medicine .......... » 155 Indices Balzan Prizewinners’ Research Projects ...................................................... » 211 Institutions .................................................................................................... » 217 People ........................................................................................................... » 225 3 Organization of the International Balzan Foundation: The Balzan Foundation “Prize” Board ...................................................................................................... Pag. 237 General Prize Committee ....................................................................... » 237 The Balzan “Fund” Foundation Board ...................................................................................................... » 238 Balzan Prizes (1961-2015) ......................................................................... » 239 4 The International Balzan Foundation The International Balzan Foundation was established in Lugano in 1956 thanks to the generosity of Lina Balzan, who had come into a considerable inheritance on the death of her father, Eugenio. She decided to use this wealth to honour his memory. Eugenio Francesco Balzan was born in Badia Polesine, near Rovigo (Northern Italy), on 20 April 1874 into a family of landowners. He spent almost his entire working life at Milan’s leading daily newspaper, Corriere della Sera. After joining the paper in 1897, he worked his way up from editorial assistant to news editor and special cor- respondent.1 In 1903 editor Luigi Albertini made him managing director of the paper’s publishing house; he then became a partner and shareholder in the company. He was not only a resourceful manager but also a leading personality in Milan. In 1933 he left Italy due to ever-increasing opposition to what was left of an independent Corriere. He then moved to Switzerland, living in Zurich and Lugano. He engaged in charitable activities, supporting many worthy causes. He officially returned to Italy in 1950. Eugenio Balzan died in Lugano, Switzerland, on 15 July 1953.2 Today, the Balzan Foundation, international in character and scope, acts jointly through two Foundations, one under Italian jurisdiction and the other under Swiss jurisdiction. In Milan, the International E. Balzan Prize Foundation “Prize” aims to promote, throughout the world, culture, science, and the most meritorious initiatives in the cause of humanity, peace and fraternity among peoples, regardless of nationality, race or creed. This aim is attained through the annual awarding of prizes in two general ac- ademic categories: literature, the moral sciences and the arts; medicine and the physi- 1 Renata Broggini (ed.), Eugenio Balzan. L’emigrazione in Canada nell’inchiesta del Corriere. 1901. Mi- lano: Corriere della Sera, 2009. 2 Renata Broggini, Eugenio Balzan 1874-1953. Una vita per il Corriere, un progetto per l’umanità. Milano: RCS Libri, 2001; second revised, expanded edition 2014; Renata Broggini, Eugenio Balzan 1874-1953. A Biography. Milano: Hoepli, 2007. 5 cal, mathematical and natural sciences. Specific subjects for the Prizes are chosen on an annual basis. Nominations are received at the Foundation’s request from the world’s leading aca- demic institutions. Candidates are selected by the General Prize Committee, com- posed of eminent European scholars and scientists. Prizewinners must allocate half of the Prize to research, preferably involving young researchers. At intervals of not less than three years, the Balzan Foundation also awards a prize for humanity, peace and fraternity among peoples. In Zurich, the International E. Balzan Prize Foundation “Fund” administers Eugenio Balzan’s estate so as to place at the disposal of the International E. Balzan Prize Foun- dation “Prize” the necessary financial means to realize its objectives. 6 The Balzan Prizewinners’ Research Projects: An Overview 7 Introduction by the Chairman of the Balzan General Prize Committee Salvatore Veca The Balzan Research Projects are an integral part of the Balzan Prize and are the one element that marks the Balzan Prize out from other international awards. The projects go a long way in fulfilling the central aims of the Balzan Foundation as elaborated by Lina Balzan, to promote culture, the sciences and the most meritorious initiatives in the cause of humanity and peace among peoples throughout the world. Since 2001, half of each annual Balzan Prize has been set aside to support a research project developed by the Prizewinner and approved by the Balzan General Prize Committee. The structure of each research project is determined by the Prizewinner, and its management is the responsibility of an academic institution proposed by the Prizewinner. The Balzan General Prize Committee delegates one or more of its members to advise and assist Prizewinners in the definition and implementation of their projects. The projects are intended to give an opportunity to young researchers to make an impact at the beginning of their careers. The sheer variety of projects undertaken to date is notable, ranging across all academic disciplines. Significant cutting edge research has emanated from these endeavours, with Balzan Prizes supporting the purchase of laboratory equipment and financing expeditions and the publication of major academic works. The variety and quality of this output can readily be observed in the lengthy bibliographies attached to the individual projects presented here. This output has also resulted in the establishment of a unique library at the headquarters of the Balzan Prize Foundation in Milan, which can be accessed by interested academics and researchers. The total amount to date allocated to over fifty Balzan Research Projects is 27.5 million Swiss francs. A significant number of academic institutions and individual researchers worldwide have been involved in these research projects. This includes institutions from countries including Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Russia, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the UK and the USA. Over five hundred researchers and administrators have been involved, representing an input 9 from many other countries including China, Finland, India, Iran, Romania, Ukraine, Ireland and Poland. I would like to convey my heartfelt thanks to Clarice Zdanski and all the staff at the Balzan “Prize” Foundation for their efforts in editing this new edition. October 2016 10 The Research Projects: An Overview Editor’s Note The fourth edition of the Overview reflects fifteen years of research carried out in projects devised and overseen by the Balzan Prizewinners. Over this period of time, many have concluded their research and achieved their goals; others are practically finished, but still occasionally produce results or publications. Consequently, a new format had been adopted, with one part dedicated to detailed, in-depth descriptions of ongoing projects, and another shorter, summary section dedicated to projects from the first ten years of the research project programme. For further information on all projects from 2001 to 2014, the reader is referred to the previous three editions of the Overview, which can be requested in paperback from the Foundation, or downloaded in pdf form from the International Balzan Foundation site (http://www.balzan.org/en/ publications). Within these two parts, the projects are organized according to the two subject areas in which the Balzan Prizes are awarded each year: Literature, Moral Sciences and the Arts; the Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, and Medicine. Entries are listed chronologically, beginning with the most recent. The entries for each Prizewinner are organized as follows: name of project, prizewinner, year and subject area of award; adviser from the Balzan General Prize Committee (GPC); names of researchers and/ or project directors; affiliated institution(s); period foreseen for research; web links. Clarice Zdanski October 2016 11 The Balzan Prizewinners’ Research Projects: 2011-2015 13 Literature, Moral Sciences, and the Arts 15 Iconic Presence: Images in Religion Hans Belting 2015 Balzan Prize for the History of European Art (1300-1700) Balzan GPC Adviser: Victor Stoichita Project Directors: Sigrid Weigel, Klaus Krüger, Ivan Foletti Affiliated Institutions: Zentrum für Literatur- und Kulturwissenschaft, Berlin; Freie Universität, Berlin; Center for Medieval Studies, Department of Art History,
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