It will be obvious what this little book (55 pages) is about. It is a bit odd that the back cover speaks of: “The historian, Freemason and Eleusinian initiate Nicola Bizzi” while in the book he only seems to say that his is an Eleusinian initiate (even though he does one time refer to “our Temples” in a Masonic context).
It is exactly because of that “Eleusinian” initiation that Bizzi claims that he knows the true origin of Freemasonry, while Masons and even Masonic scholars do not.
I agree with Bizzi that Freemasonry did not start in 1717, but in my view Bizzi is a bit too easy in concluding that the lodges formed the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster were part of a continuing esoteric tradition from times past and that later reforms continue to build thereon.
Apparently mostly based on the (in)famous The Temple and the Lodge (1989) of Baigent and Leigh, Bizzi sees the origin of Freemasonry in the Knight Templars. Following Thomas Paine (1737-1809) in a 1805 text (Origin of Freemasonry) the other origin is “Celtic-Druidic”. Does Bizzi really think that people interested in the history of Freemasonry do not know these works? Baigent / Leigh has been available for three decades by the time that Bizzi published his reflections; Paine’s text can be found online and much has been written since, but more debunking both claims that supporting them. It would have been nice had Bizzi presented something new to rekindle the theory that he puts forward.
All in all this publication only claims to know more than other publications, but there is nothing in it that helps people who are interested in the subject. It is somewhat refreshing to run into thinkers such as Guénon and Reghini, but claims such as: “But even with regard to the templar component of Freemasonry, as far as it is fully traceable and documentable” without adding anything to what is already publicly available is not really helpful.
Not a boring read, but also not something that ads anything to available literature.
2019 Edizioni Aurora Boreale, isbn 8898635788
