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Winnicott's work and his school of psychoanalysis have enjoyed, over the past few decades, growing success outside the UK. This has given rise to an interesting series
of ‘readings’ which could be described as ‘national’, as they explore the Middle Group's vital contributions in countries with strong theoretical and clinical traditions, relating them with a varying degree of success to the local psychoanalytic fabric.
There is no doubt that Winnicott's ideas and those of many of his followers, because of their intermediary role and transformational potential, lend themselves to being cross-referenced and at times fruitfully married with other ideas. We can give as examples a French reading of Winnicott, especially by André Green, and an Argentinean reading, in which certain authors assimilate with highly original results Winnicottian concepts to Lacan's contributions, in spite of appearing to be in conflict with them.
This book, edited by Paolo Fabozzi, discusses in a broad and highly representative way the trajectory of Italian psychoanalysis resulting from Winnicott's work. The outcome is most successful, particularly because the authors respect the underlying spirit of the texts they refer to; or, to be more specific, the atmosphere of clinical work here described—as compared with what I referred to as ‘national’ readings— comes closest to the moods, colours and flavours we can detect in the relationships established by the English master and his followers in their analytic work. In this sense, the book is truly interesting, for it is a specific, respectful and characteristic instance of managing and developing a legacy.
Non-Italian colleagues might benefit from some background information on the psychoanalytic context in which the book's contributions originated. The main interest in Winnicott's work comes from analysts such as Bonaminio, Nicolò, Fabozzi and Marion who belong to a group based at La Sapienza University in Rome. This