Una nota su Ignác Goldziher

A note on Ignác Goldziher. In this essay Ignác Goldziher is remembered non only as a great orientalist, but mainly as an important figure in the Hungarian culture between 19th and 20th century. Even his rich biography reveals five important themes which can be fruitful for further investigations: 1) the relationship with his mentor Ármin Vámbéry; 2) the role played - together with the great italianist Jenő Péterfy - in the creation of the intellectual circle of the Café Bristol in Budapest; 3) the influence exercised on the literary production of some writers (Zoltán Ambrus, Mihály Babits) engaged in the critical reinterpretation of the biblical tradition; 4) the identification of the artistic aspect of Ernest Renan's investigations; 5) the reception of his cultural activity - in the light of the ever-latent antisemitism - in "Nyugat", the most important Hungarian literary review of the first half of the 20th century. Finally, a comprehensive outline of the presence of Goldziher's cultural and scientific heritage in the tradition of the orientalistic studies of contemporary Hungary is drawn.