Rivista di Storia del Diritto Italiano

Rivista di Storia del Diritto Italiano
Title	Rivista di Storia del Diritto Italiano
Discipline	Legal history
Language	Italian
Country	Italy
Established	1924
Frequency	Quarterly
Publisher	Società per la Storia del Diritto

Rivista di Storia del Diritto Italiano is an Italian scholarly journal devoted to the historical study of law, legal institutions, and legal thought. Founded in the early twentieth century, it has published research engaging with sources, persons, and events across European and extra-European contexts. The journal has attracted contributions that intersect with major figures and institutions in legal, political, and intellectual history.

History

The journal emerged during a period when scholars associated with Giovanni Gentile, Benito Mussolini's Italy, and academic circles around Università di Roma "La Sapienza", Università di Bologna, and Università di Padova sought to systematize studies of medieval and modern juridical sources. Early contributors included professors connected to Scuola storica networks, such as Francesco Schupfer, Celestino Bruni, and Alberto Branca, and it featured debates involving editors from Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Istituto Storico Italiano per il Medio Evo, and Archivio di Stato di Firenze. During the postwar era the editorial line adjusted to dialogues influenced by scholars from Università di Milano, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Università di Napoli Federico II, and comparative projects linked to Harvard University, University of Cambridge, and Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. Debates in the journal intersected with landmark events such as the rediscovery of Corpus Iuris Civilis, archival campaigns at the Vatican Secret Archives, and the reevaluation of sources following the Second World War and the formation of the European Economic Community.

Scope and Focus

The journal publishes research on legal sources, jurisprudence, codifications, and institutional transformations from antiquity through the contemporary era, engaging with figures like Justinian I, Bartolus de Saxoferrato, Gian Domenico Romagnosi, Cesare Beccaria, Francesco Carrara, and Giovanni Battista Vico. Articles analyze archives such as those of Archivio di Stato di Venezia, Archivio di Stato di Torino, and manuscript collections related to Dante Alighieri, Petrarch, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Ludovico Ariosto. Comparative pieces bring in contexts such as Holy Roman Empire, Kingdom of Naples, Spanish Empire, Ottoman Empire, Commonwealth of England, and case studies concerning laws like the Napoleonic Code, Corpus Iuris Canonici, and the Lateran Treaty. The journal has published studies on legal thinkers connected to Max Weber, Émile Durkheim, Karl Marx, Alexis de Tocqueville, Hugo Grotius, and John Locke, and on institutions such as Roman Curia, Parliament of the United Kingdom, Corte Suprema di Cassazione, and colonial administrations including British Raj and Viceroyalty of Peru.

Editorial Structure and Publication Details

The editorial board typically comprises professors and researchers affiliated with Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Università di Siena, Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, Università di Palermo, Università di Trento, and international correspondents from Yale University, Columbia University, University of Oxford, Universität Heidelberg, and Universiteit Leiden. Publication operates on a peer-review model with contributions in Italian and sometimes in French, English, and German, drawing submissions that cite sources from Bibliothèque nationale de France, British Library, Vatican Library, and regional archives such as Archivio di Stato di Mantova and Archivio di Stato di Genova. The journal issues thematic volumes and special numbers dedicated to conferences organized at institutions like European University Institute, Max Planck Institute for European Legal History, Institute for Advanced Study, and national symposia sponsored by Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo.

Notable Articles and Contributions

Landmark articles have reinterpreted texts associated with Codex Justinianus, unearthed notarial records from Comune di Firenze, and reassessed trials in contexts like Inquisition procedures and Trial of Galileo Galilei. Influential contributions addressed topics linked to Emperor Frederick II, Kingdom of Sicily (Hauteville), and municipal statutes of Repubblica di Venezia, while comparative legal histories examined the influence of Code Civil (Napoleon), German Civil Code, and Statute of Kalisz. Studies on criminal law revisited arguments by Cesare Beccaria and engagements with penal reformers in Enlightenment centers such as Salon of Madame de Staël and publishing networks like Encyclopédie. The journal published archival discoveries concerning families like the Medici, Sforza, and Este, and produced legal-philosophical readings of texts by Antonio Gramsci, Gabriele Tarde, and Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa.

Indexing and Impact

Rivista contributions are indexed in major bibliographic services and cited in monographs from presses including Giuffrè Editore, Il Mulino, Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, and Brill Publishers. Citation networks connect articles to scholarship at European University Institute, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Max Planck Gesellschaft, Biblioteca Ambrosiana, and research projects funded by European Research Council grants, national academies like Accademia dei Lincei, and foundations such as Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Torino. The journal's impact is visible in curricula at Istituto Universitario Europeo, graduate programs at Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, and citations in legal histories dealing with the Congress of Vienna, Unification of Italy, and legislative reforms of the Kingdom of Italy.

Affiliations and Sponsorship

The journal is associated with scholarly societies including Società per la Storia del Diritto, collaborates with university departments at Università degli Studi di Firenze and Università degli Studi di Bergamo, and organizes panels with institutions like Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali and Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Storici. Funding and sponsorship have come from entities such as Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca, regional cultural departments of Regione Toscana and Regione Lombardia, private foundations like Fondazione Cariplo, and patronage from municipal archives in Naples, Milan, and Rome.

Category:Italian journals Category:Legal history journals