On May 28, 1995, at Bertinoro, the town where the great commentator of the Mishrah, Ovadiah, once lived, scholars from various prestigious universities founded Mediterraneum.

Mediterraneum is a network of eight European and Mediterranean universities for the comparative study of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam from the perspectives of cultural anthropology, history of religions, and comparative ethics.

This book is the outcome of Mediterraneum's first seminar. The essays collected here deal with two closely connected questions: how can the comparative study of three monotheistic religions be carried out? And how is it possible to compare religious phenomena that have not been previously represented in an autonomous way, each one in and for itself?