There were three criteria for the 'collection' of the articles in this issue, linked to some particular intentions. The first criteria is linked to the desire to begin to fill a gap in the critical studies on Ricoeur. In fact, as central as the world of literature, of symbol, of metaphor (and, as we shall see, also of painting and music), were to Ricoeur, he never devoted a monograph to the arts (keeping this intimate dialogue almost like a hidden secret). Perhaps also for this reason there are still no books dedicated to this subject. Of course there are some essays and monographs, but books on this topic was, in our view, still missing. In any case, the relationship of Ricoeur with the arts is an area yet to be explored, much less examined than the other topics touched on by the French philosopher
