Spirituality - A new series of publications offers the Italian text without notes. This approach aims to encourage “immediate” reading, in an embrace that leaves out the noise of social media.
by Luigino Bruni
published in Avvenire on 08/28/2025
In 1559, during the Council of Trent, Pope Paul V had the Index of Prohibited Books drawn up (later reaffirmed in 1564 by Pius IV and in 1596 by Clement VIII, and remaining in force until the 20th century), in an attempt to control and curb the spread of the heretical winds of the Reformation under the Alps. Luther had placed the Bible at the center of his revolution (sola Scriptura), and the Catholic world reacted by placing the direct reading of the Bible among the symptoms of potential heretics. And so, among the books forbidden to Catholic faithful were also translations of the Bible into vernacular languages, including, of course, Italian.
The first two centuries of printing saw many editions of the Bible in Italian. If we consider not only the complete editions, but also the partial ones, between 1471 and 1562 about seventy Bibles were printed, almost all of them in Venice. Later, with the Counter-Reformation, they appeared almost exclusively in Geneva in Italian Protestant circles. We therefore had to wait until the Age of Enlightenment and the progressive influences of Benedict XIV, Antonio Ludovico Muratori, and Antonio Genovesi for an Italian translation of the Latin Bible accepted by the Catholic Church to appear between 1769 and 1781, edited by Abbot Antonio Martini. This edition remained the only official one, based on the Latin Vulgate, until Vatican II and its revolution in biblical culture, which generated new and different versions of the Bible in Italian and in many modern languages. However, during the four centuries marked by the Counter-Reformation (1565-1965), reading the Bible in Italian, alone or in a group, without the presence of a priest, was discouraged. The constitution Dominici gregis custodiae of the Council of Trent of March 24, 1564, states: “Translations of the books of the Old Testament may be granted only to learned and pious men, at the discretion of the bishop, provided that such translations are used as an explanation of the Vulgate edition to understand Sacred Scripture and not as a self-sufficient text in itself.” In short, the relationship between the Catholic Church and Sacred Scripture has not been straightforward, and even theology from Scholasticism to Vatican II did not feel the need to base itself directly on the biblical text; in some centuries, Aristotle or Pseudo-Dionysius were perhaps considered and quoted more than the Bible. Not to mention the Old Testament, which was very distant from the formation of the people (even if it was always very present in art, which instinctively loved it very much). Marcion, who wanted to exclude the entire Old Testament from the Christian canon, was defeated by the Fathers and considered a heretic, but in practice, the Catholic people continued to think that “the Gospel is enough,” that the Old Testament is very complicated, distant, and all in all useless or harmful if it does not anticipate the Gospel and Jesus. A different story is that of monasticism and most of consecrated life, where the Word is daily bread, the atmosphere and the womb where the whole day and existence unfold - but, as we know, Catholic culture has developed two parallel tracks: one for monks, nuns, and sisters, and one for the laity.
Then came the Second Vatican Council with its relative shift in relation to the frequentation of the Word, recommended and relaunched at all levels: “It is necessary that the faithful have wide access to Sacred Scripture” (Dei Verbum); but centuries of little or no biblical tradition cannot be changed in the space of one or two generations. There is therefore still much to be done to achieve a Catholic culture that is friendly to the Bible, to the whole Bible, which is truly urgent. We will not overcome the currently devastating impact of modern and scientific culture without a true, daily, and serious biblical formation that goes beyond the naive, improvised, and spiritualistic approach often found in some groups and movements, where the Gospel is read and perhaps lived, but without this being accompanied by a biblical culture, which is quite different and more serious than simply reading and putting the Gospel into practice. A serious biblical culture is also the right way to ensure that young people, once they become adults, can continue their Christian experience when it is necessary to seek a foundation deeper than emotions.
That is why we cannot but welcome with enthusiasm the initiative of the La Vela publishing house in Lucca, which has launched a new and innovative series, I libri della Bibbia (The Books of the Bible), edited by Sergio Valzania. These are small books, very well edited, starting with the choice of the cover image. The challenge of this new cultural enterprise is indicated on the back cover of each volume: “This series offers the books of the Bible in the translation edited by the CEI, in a compact format, without notes or comments.” These books therefore contain only the Italian text of the biblical book, introduced by a short page by the editor Sergio Valzania. All Bibles, including those by Diodati (Protestant) and Martini, have always been accompanied by footnotes, even if these were often limited to cross-references to other biblical passages and little else. Valzania and La Vela, on the other hand, have printed the text without notes, not to encourage a magical and naive approach to the Bible, but to lighten and thus encourage a first reading of the bare text, sine glossa. The first good reading of the Bible is a hand-to-hand combat without mediators, like that between Jacob and the angel in the night crossing of the Jabbock (chapter 32 of Genesis). A fight that is also an embrace, which wounds and blesses us, because after the first reading, a second one will be needed, and there the notes and technical comments will be essential.
Three books have been published so far: Genesis, Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes. A new and exciting publishing venture, as risky as all innovations. And we can only wish it well, among believers and non-believers alike, because the Bible is a global common good for everyone, for anyone interested in exploring the mystery and beauty of the world. The Bible is many things, all of them important, but above all it is a training in the meaning and vocation of the word, of words, of God's and our own. In a time filled with chatter, artificial intelligence, and fake news, reading the Bible is an extraordinary and necessary exercise in learning the discipline of the word. One last personal piece of advice for this first reading of the biblical text. Turn off your cell phone, go, alone or in company, to an open, quiet place, preferably with trees, birds, nature. And there you will be able to hear again, here and now, the sound and meaning of the word: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Photo credits: Photo by John-Mark Smith on Pexels
