The research project «The Common Core of European Private Law» can be looked at as the result of a methodological “legal fusion” from the U. S. A.
to Europe. In this fusion, the particular European cultural context, together with a series of influences by the Italian legal scholarship, have led to an
enrichment of the imported model with original elements, thereby assuring the wide success of the initiative. This essay illustrates aims and methods of the project, deals with the relationship existing between the «Common Core» and the Italian legal culture, and assesses the impact of the project in Europe. Special attention is paid to the contributions of the «Common Core» towards many directions, like the increasing of knowledge in the field of European private law, the (better) understanding of the link existing between law and language, and the creation of a European legal culture, but also its limits are analyzed, which may put at risk the surviving of the project.