Guido Davide Neri Personal Library

Donated to the library at the end of 2009 by the philosopher’s son, Gabriele Neri, this collection includes texts that reflect Neri’s philosophical development. His thought represents one of the final expressions of the Milan School, drawing on several of its key themes: phenomenological inquiry, historical-political analysis, and aesthetic studies. Following a two-year research stay in Prague (1961–1962) funded by a scholarship, Neri formed a lasting relationship with Czech philosophy, engaging in significant exchanges with dissident philosophers such as Kosík and Patočka. These experiences led to a particular interest in forms of thought that emerged alongside and in opposition to the socialism of Eastern Europe.

The books with annotations by the donor have been excluded from loan.

Biography of Guido Davide Neri

26 November 1935: Born in Milan.

1948–1953: Attended Berchet Classical Secondary School in Milan.

1953–1955: Began studying philosophy at the University of Milan, attending lectures by Antonio Banfi and Mario Dal Pra.

1955–1957: Continued his philosophy studies at the University of Pavia, attending lectures by Dino Formaggio and Enzo Paci.

1956–1957: Collaborated with the journal Ragionamenti.

1957: Graduated in Aesthetics from the University of Pavia with a dissertation on the thought of Alois Riegl; supervisor: Dino Formaggio; co-supervisors: Enzo Paci and V.E. Alfieri. After graduation, lived in a commune in Via Sirtori, Milan.

1957–1963: Volunteered as assistant in Theoretical Philosophy (chair held by Enzo Paci) at the University of Milan.

1958: Began contributing to aut aut, the journal founded by Enzo Paci in 1951, publishing numerous essays until 2000.

1958–1960: Temporary teacher of History and Philosophy at the Alessandro Volta State Scientific Secondary School in Milan.

1960: Qualified to teach Philosophy and History in secondary schools.

1961: Edited the Feltrinelli edition of Perspective as Symbolic Form and Other Writings by Erwin Panofsky.

1 September 1961 – 31 October 1962: Spent a year on a scholarship at the University of Prague and the Institute of Philosophy of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences.

1 November 1962 – 30 April 1963: Spent six months in Paris on a scholarship at the Cité universitaire de Paris.

1962–1963: Awarded a scholarship by the Ministry of Public Education at the University of Milan.

1963: Co-founded the political and cultural monthly Il filo rosso (Feltrinelli) with Gian Piero Brega, Gian Franco Vené and Massimo Calderazzi.

1964–1965: Temporary literature teacher at the state middle school in Trezzo sull’Adda.

1965: Published Gabriele Galantara. Il morso dell’asino with Edizioni del Gallo (later Feltrinelli, Milan 1980). Also wrote the “Note” for the Bompiani edition of Pensieri proibiti by Stanislaw Jerzy Lec.

1965–1966: Temporary teacher of General Culture and Civics at the “Adriano Olivetti” State Vocational School for Commerce in Rho.

1966: Published Prassi e conoscenza with Feltrinelli.

1967–1968: Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Pennsylvania State University, USA.

1968: Qualified for university-level teaching in Theoretical Philosophy (qualification confirmed in 1975).

1968–1971: Lecturer in Aesthetics at the Faculty of Education, University of Padua (Verona campus), on the proposal of Dean Dino Formaggio.

1971–1981: Lecturer in Philosophy at the same campus. This marked the beginning of his long teaching period in Verona. His lectures often combined reflections on history and perception with discussions on art, especially painting, with a particular focus on Caravaggio, whom he considered fundamental. His teaching also explored aspects of the thought of Husserl, Merleau-Ponty, Bloch, Patočka, and Banfi.

1980: Published Aporie della realizzazione. Filosofia e ideologia nel socialismo reale with Feltrinelli.

From 1982: Appointed Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Faculty of Education, and from the 1992/93 academic year, Associate Professor of Theoretical Philosophy at the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, University of Verona, which became autonomous from Padua in August 1982.

1984: Published Crisi e costruzione della storia. Sviluppi del pensiero di A. Banfi with Libreria Editrice Universitaria, Verona (later Bibliopolis, Naples 1988). Took sabbatical leave from teaching for research.

1989–1990 and 1996–1997: Further sabbatical leave for research.

2001: Passed away prematurely.

Information drawn from: “Nota biografica” by C. Zamboni in G. D. Neri, Il sensibile, la storia, l’arte. Scritti 1957-2001, Verona, Ombre corte, 2003, pp. 357–361 and from “Bibliografia di Guido Davide Neri” by A. Pantano in the same volume, pp. 362–367.

Bibliography by Guido Davide Neri

• G. D. Neri, La filosofia come ontologia universale e le obiezioni del relativismo scettico di Husserl, in E. Paci (a cura di), Omaggio a Husserl, Milano, Saggiatore, 1960
• G. D. Neri; con una sezione dedicata ai critici marxisti della fenomenologia, Prassi e conoscenza, Milano, Feltrinelli, 1966
• Guido D. Neri, Galantara. Il morso dell'Asino, Milano, Feltrinelli, 1980
• Guido D. Neri, Aporie della realizzazione. Filosofia e ideologia nel socialismo reale, Milano, Feltrinelli, 1980
• Jan Patocka; a cura di Alessandra Pantano; con uno scritto di Guido Davide Neri, Il mondo naturale e la fenomenologia, Milano, Mimesis, 2003
• Guido Davide Neri; prefazione di Dino Formaggio, Il sensibile, la storia, l'arte. Scritti 1957-2001, Verona, Ombre corte, 2003

Bibliography on Guido Davide Neri

• Guido D. Neri (1935-2001). Bibliografia (a cura di Alessandra Pantano), in “aut aut”, 304 (luglio-agosto 2001), pp. 161-164.
• Quando tra noi muore un filosofo. Ricordo di Guido D. Neri, a cura di amici, colleghi e studenti, Pizzighettone, Vinciguerra, 2002.
• Guido Davide Neri, Il sensibile, la storia, l'arte. Scritti 1957-2001, Verona, Ombre corte, 2003, con particolare riguardo, per approfondimenti sulla biografia e la bibliografia di Neri, a:
• Chiara Zamboni (a cura di), “Nota biografica”, pp. 357-361;
• Alessandra Pantano (a cura di), “Bibliografia di Guido Davide Neri”, pp. 362-367.
• “Materiali di Estetica. Terza serie”, 3(2016), 1: numero monografico “Per Guido Davide Neri: Atti della Giornata di Studio e di Testimonianze svoltasi presso la Fondazione Corrente, Milano, l’11 ottobre 2011”
• Carla Cantini, La strada della betulla. Chi ci ha preceduti ci darà le ali, Bergamo, Moretti & Vitali, 2010.
• Luciano Fausti, Guido Davide Neri tra scepsi e storia. Un percorso filosofico, Milano, UNICOPLI, 2010.
• Laura Frigerio, Elena Mazzolani, Il Fondo Guido Davide Neri, in “Sistema Università”, 10(2012), n. 39/40, pp. 6-8.
• Amedeo Vigorelli, Fenomenologia e storia. A partire da Patocka. Itinerario filosofico di Guido Davide Neri, in “Leussein”, 4(2012), n. 1, pp.141-163.