Università Roma Tre

The first attribute of the prince's power is jurisdiction, which is the authority to apply and enforce the laws. But has the administration of justice always remained the same throughout history? Is there a judicial modernity that has replaced archaic and "irrational" customs? And if it exists, did its advent coincide with what we commonly call the Modern Age? According to what criteria did the European states of the early modern period intend not only to repress crime but also to control social conflict? From the perspective of social actors, were there alternative routes to the courts for seeking justice in case of conflict? Did the penal regimes target only the bodies of the condemned, or also their personal and family memory? What was the role of communities and kinship in the mechanisms of sanctioning deviance? What was the influence of religious beliefs? The course aims to provide analytical tools for understanding phenomena of fundamental importance for the development of Western Europe.

Students will need to study:

Marco Bellabarba, La giustizia nell’Italia moderna, Rome-Bari, Laterza, 2021.

Additionally, one book of their choice from the following:

Paolo Broggio, Governare l’odio. Pace e giustizia criminale nell’Italia moderna (secoli XVI-XVII), Rome, Viella, 2021.

Guido Dall’Olio, Nella valle di Giosafat. Giustizia di Dio e giustizia degli uomini nella prima età moderna, Rome, Carocci, 2021.

Marco Albertoni, Storia delle colonne infami: giustizia e memoria in età moderna, Naples, Bibliopolis, 2023.

Adriano Prosperi, Giustizia bendata. Percorsi storici di un’immagine, Turin, Einaudi, 2008.

N.B. The course will take place in the second semester. It will be possible to take the exam with this program starting from the summer session (June-July 2025).