BALDISSERA Fabrizia

Associate Professor and researcher Università degli Studi of Florence

Medieval Period

BIOGRAPHY Fabrizia BALDISSERA graduated cum laude in Classics at the, Università degli Studi and completed her BA (1974) and MA (1980) from Oxford University in Oriental Studies, Sankrit and Pali. She was a researcher with CNR in Oriental Studies and studied Sanskrit drama manuscrpits at the the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, and at the Centre for Advanced Sanskrit Studies, Pune University in India. Then she explored Bharatanatyam dance to gain a better understanding of Indian drama between 1978 and 1981. Since 1978, she was doing research in editing and interpreting unedited Sanskrit kaavya texts. She is recipient of three CNR grants for: study of Bharatanatyam tradition; philological/religious investigations on texts, iconography and ritual relating to terrifying goddess figures; and finally for research in the historical/social background of medieval Kashmir through literary Sanskrit texts from the year 1000. For ten years, she held the post of “Ricercatore confermato” at the Università degli Studi, Milan. Studied the Greek and Roman relations with India in the antiquity; contemporary temple rituals of terrific goddesses in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Kerala, seen in relation to ancient manuals on temple worship. She Studied Sanskrit satire and worked for the Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation Project (Universities of Kiel, Berlin and Kathmandu). Since 1991, she is associate professor of Sanskrit Language and Literature, first at the Università Orientale, Naples, then at the Università degli Studi of Florence (1999-present). She focused on the Alexander campaign in India, and on Indian texts about the Indo-Greeks. Is currently editing a collective volume of translations, mainly from Sanskrit, on the theme of love in ancient India; engaged in the study of the Artha"saastra; doing research on texts and temples of terrific goddesses; investigating ancient Indian alchemy and its relation with Chinese alchemy; researching the ancient migrations of brahmans both within India and in the larger Indian sphere of influence. She lectured abroad at: Collège de France, Paris; Curtin University, Perth, Australia; Universities of Pune, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Benares, Lucknow, India; of Bern, Marburg, Heidelberg, Weimar, Edinburg, Lancaster; at the Volkerskunde and Rietberg Museums, Zurich. She also organized with Heidelberg the Advanced Sanskrit Summer School in Florence, and a round table on Indian dance at Cà Foscari University, Venice. Besides academic commitments, she is the scientific director of the cataloguing project for the Jain manuscripts in Florence, in collaboration with Florence University, the Florence National Library, and the LD Institute of Indology, (Ahmedabad). Since 1999, She is in the scientific committee of Quaderni Dip.to di Linguistica (Firenze), and now is in the committee for publications of the Dip.to di Lingue, Letterature e Studi Culturali. Since 2001, is membre du Comité International de Pilotage des Études Indianistes à Pondichéry.

BIOGRAPHY

Books :

• F. Baldissera (2012), Emotions in Indian dramas and dances. In: A. MICHAELS, C. WULF (eds.), Emotions in Rituals and Performance. p. 333-377, Abingdon & New Delhi: Routledge, ISBN: 9780415523042

• F. Baldissera (2009), Telling bodies. PARAGRANA, vol. 18, p. 93-106, ISSN: 0938-0116

• F. Baldissera (2008), Donne e animali nella letteratura indiana classica. In: E. PELLEGRINI, E. PINZUTI, Bestiari di genere, p. 118-135, Firenze: Società Editrice Fiorentina, ISBN: 9788860320865

• F. Baldissera (2006), Donne, animali, passioni nel Kathaasaritsaagara. QUADERNI DEL DIPARTIMENTO DI LINGUISTICA. UNIVERSITA' DEGLI STUDI DI FIRENZE, vol. 16, pp. 219-226, ISSN: 1122-0619

• F. Baldissera (2005), Traditions of protest: the development of religious suicide from religious act to political statement. In: F. SQUARCINI (ed.) et al., Boundaries, Dynamics and construction of traditions in South Asia. pp. 515-568, Firenze: Florence University Press/Munshiram Manoharlal, ISBN: 8884532620

• F. BALDISSERA (2005), The Narmamaalaa of K.semendra (study, edition, annotated translation), pp.VII-186 (+XXXI), Heidelberg: South Asian Studies, Heidelberg University, Ergon Verlag, ISBN: 3899134273 (monograph)

• F. Baldissera (2004), The Alluring Ladylove. In: U. ROESLER, J. SONY, Aspects of the female in Indian culture, p. 81-93, Marburg: Indica et Tibetica, ISBN: 3923776446

• F. BALDISSERA, P. CHARVET (2002), Arrien, le voyage d'Alexandre en Inde, pp. 9-267, Paris: Laffont Seghers, Les Èditions du Nile, ISBN: 2841112411 (Monograph)

• F. Baldissera (2001), The satire of tantric figures in some works of K.semendra. In: R. TORELLA

• Ed., Le parole e i marmi. Studi in onore di Raniero Gnoli nel suo 70° compleanno, pp. 13-35, ROMA: Herder

• F. Baldissera (2001), Corpo Come Proprietà/Corpo Come Poetica. In: A. ARRU, L. DI MICHELE, M. STELLA (eds.), Proprietarie, pp. 11-19, Napoli.

• F. Baldissera (2000), Naturalistic Descriptions and Vegetable Metaphors: Plants is Some Satires of K.semendra. In: J.VACEK (ed.), Pandanus 2000, Natural Symbolism in Indian Literatures, vol. II, pp. 11-25, Praga

• F.Baldissera (1999), Sinister fluids: the evil juices of love, writing and religion, BULLETIN D'ÉTUDES INDIENNES, vol. 17-18, pp. 153-172, ISSN: 0761-3156 N. Progr. 17601

• F. Baldissera (1996). Ca.n.dikaa/Ca.n.dii, Vindhyavaasinii and Other Terrific Goddesses in the Kathaasaritsaagara. In: Wild Goddesses in India and Nepal, Proceedings of an International Symposium in Berne and Zürich 1994, Studia Religiosa Helvetica. pp.71-103, A. MICHAELS, C. VOGELSANGER, A. WILKE (eds.), Berne and Zürich

• SOMADEVA, F. BALDISSERA, MAZZARINO V., VIVANTI M.P. (1993). L'oceano dei fiumi dei racconti. (Kathaasaritsaagara). pp. 1-403, Torino: Einaudi (monograph)

• F. BALDISSERA, A. MICHAELS (1988). Der indische Tanz. Koln: Dumont Buchverlag 1984 – (Monograph)

• F. BALDISSERA, A. SCHWARZ (1984). La Ronda Delle Stagioni Di Kalidasa, pp. 75-125, Milano: La Salamandra (Monograph)

• F. BALDISSERA (1980). The Bhaa.na "Saaradaatilaka of “Sa.mkara, spring pastimes of an Indian gallant. (editio princeps), pp. 1-123, Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (Monograph)

Articles :

• F. BALDISSERA (ed.), L’universo di Kaama, testi d’amore dell’antica India, Torino: Einaudi

• F. Baldissera, Indian Alchemy: Rasaayana in some kaavya and kaatha texts, in: G. OROFINO (ed.), Elisir mercuriali e immortalità. Capitoli per una storia dell’alchimia nell’Eurasia antica, AION, sezione filologica letteraria

• F. Baldissera, Note in margine al Milindapanha: la fortuna dell’immagine di Alessandro e dei re indo-greci in India, in: S. BIANCHETTI (ed.), Tracce di presenza greca fra Etiopia e India, SILENO.

• F. Baldissera, King and Devii: instances of their specialrelationship, in: S. Bindi, E. Mucciarelli, T. Pontillo, Cross-cutting Asian Studies: an Interdisciplinary Approach, London: Anthem Press.

• F. Baldissera, Antiche migrazioni di intellettuali: spostamenti di gruppi di brahmani esperti di testi e di rituale in sanscrito sia entro l’India, sia verso la “Greater India”, in: A. SARACGIL, R. SVANDERLICK (eds.), Lingue, letterature e culture migranti, Firenze: QUADERNI DEL DIPARTIMENTO DI LINGUE, LETTERATURE E STUDI INTERCULTURALI