As a topic that concerns the human condition, solitude must be approached from a multidisciplinary perspective. By joining the «debate» opened by the Rivista di Psicoanalisi, the A. attempts to delimit its scope by showing the intimate connection between solitude and psychoanalysis both from a historical and a theoretical/technical point of view. The essay is divided into short paragraphs dedicated to: the solitude of the analyst; the solitude of the patient; the distinction between inner and outer solitude. In this last respect, the A. believes that the distinction between external and internal reality has become blurred and compares solitude to an onion that the analyst can peel together with the patient within the analytic situation.

KEYWORDS: Capacity to be alone, sense of solitude, solitude and psychoanalysis, myth of the hero.