(Received 12 March 2007; accepted 2 April 2008)

After presenting the scientific context in which he developed his research work, the author outlines Gaetano Benedetti's life and work and presents the relationship he himself developed with him, which led to Benedetti's giving him his correspondence as a gift. The correspondence allows us to document Benedetti's role on the international scene and his relational competence, that is, his human warmth and what the author calls his “bridging function.” The dialogical principle informs not only his work with his patients, but also his contacts with colleagues and the international connections essential for our work. His main legacy is the international network he established—which is also an essential ingredient of psychoanalysis.