We often refer to Jacopone as a mystic, as well as a poet, emphasising that one cannot fully appreciate Jacopone’s poetry without understanding something about his mysticism.

But what is mysticism?

Mysticism means different things to different people but at its simplest, it is the search for an experiential knowledge of God, as opposed to purely intellectual, traditional or ritual approaches.

Ecstasy

Very different definitions of ecstasy exist. Some psychologists, not empathetic towards religious experience, classify ecstasy among mental disorders such as schizophrenia, hysteria and paranoia. Most dictionaries and encyclopedias define it approximately as: “a state of isolation and escape from reality, in order to be absorbed in a single object; an internal and exclusive perception”. This definition does not reflect the technical meaning of the word, which derives from Greek ex-stasis, “to be outside”, that is to stand outside of oneself – the very opposite of being closed up in oneself.

Why would psychoanalysts Carlo Brutti and Rita Parlani Brutti organise seminars on the figure of Jacopone da Todi in their Institute? What relationship have we been able to establish between Psychoanalysis and Mysticism?