What constitutes friendship? Philosophers and writers throughout time have asked countless questions hoping to get closer to its essence:

Is friendship essential for a happy life, as Aristotle believed? Does it require trust, as Cicero insisted? Does friendship mitigate loneliness, as concluded by Leopardi in his Zibaldone? Is loyalty proof of friendship, as Petrarch suggests in Letters to Classical Authors? Can friends be situational, as Boccaccio illustrates in The Decameron? Must friendship be based on common interests, as Machiavelli advised? Can we be friends with those who have departed, as Montaigne was with Étienne de La Boétie? As you can see, friendship has continued to both intrigue and baffle even the greatest minds for centuries.

Renaissance humanism originated and developed in northern Italy and focused on the exploration of human relationships, including friendship, as a source of personal fulfilment and for the good of society. By recovering classical philosophies, humanists sought to promote humanitas – the cultivation and expression of human virtue – of which friendship was considered a part. But to what extent do their beliefs hold true in reality? Does 'true' friendship actually exist, or does it belong exclusively to the realms of philosophy and the literary imagination?

In this project, Racconti di amicizia (Tales of Friendship), I will explore this question through the lens of Renaissance humanism, and reflect on whether philosophical ideas of friendship resonate in everyday life. To do so, I will engage in conversations with the people of Tuscany and Veneto, two regions of philosophical importance, inviting them to comment on the definitions of friendship articulated by Renaissance humanists. Accompanying their tales in two parts (Racconti toscani and Racconti veneti) will be a collection of my drawings illustrating everyday interactions among friends throughout the cities and towns of the two regions. In the end, I hope to reconcile the theoretical with the real, the ideals of the Renaissance with the everyday realities of human connection.