Abstract
In this paper we propose a novel ontological analysis of relations and relationships based on a re-visitation of a classic problem in the practice of conceptual modeling, namely relationship reification. Despite the two terms 'relation' and 'relationship' are often used interchangeably, we shall assume a radical difference between the two: a relation holds in virtue of the existence of a relationship. We see therefore relationships as truthmakers, accounting not only for the fact that a relation holds, but also for the way it develops in time.