G. Simmel's Avenues of Thought in Italy
One of the most striking characteristics of the initial reception of Georg Simmel’s thought in Italy is that it began with the translation of some of his most important philosophical treatises. The only exceptions to this were his sociological essays Das Problem der Soziologie and Zur Soziologie der Armut, translated respectively in 1896 and 1906. Thus, in opposition to his reception elsewhere (Deutschland included), in Italy Simmel was discovered and valued — by those who first came into contact with his work — as a philosopher first and foremost. The 1980s saw a renewal of interest in Simmel’s corpus of work, resulting in the translation of some of his most important sociological works, as well as providing the stimulus for numerous studies that have since demonstrated the importance of his contribution to the development of sociology and the complexity of his thought beyond the confines of any single discipline.