Studies on Political, Religious and Literary Dissent
Online ISSN 2421-3012
ABSTRACTS
This page contains the english abstracts of individual contributions published since 2018 in the journal "Quaderni eretici. Studi sul dissenso politico, religioso e letterario", published by Edizioni CLORI and hosted on the website Ereticopedia.
For access to the full texts and additional information regarding the journal, please refer to the homepage of "Quaderni eretici".
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N. 6 / 2018
Fascicolo 1 / Issue 1
David Salomoni (Università degli Studi Roma Tre) | Un’educazione guerriera. Donne in armi nel tardo Medioevo italiano (XIV-XVI sec.)
This article considers some biographies of warrior women who lived in Italy between the 14th and 16th centuries, trying to separate the high degree of idealization of these figures from the more historically demonstrable aspects through a critical-anthropological approach. In particular, it seems to emerge a pedagogical specificity addressed to women of the late Middle Ages for whom a technical and psychological education to the craft of arms was not excluded.
Laura Antonella Piras (Università degli Studi di Sassari) | Dominae fortunae suae: un progetto trasversale
The article presents the project "Dominae fortunae suae". La forza trasformatrice dell’ingegno femminile, a transversal section of Ereticopedia, dedicated to the contribution offered by women to the birth and development of various fields of knowledge. Looking at women's intellectual activity beyond the predefined roles and frameworks in which they have been confined since antiquity, and focusing in primis on personal talent, is today more than ever a necessary effort for gaining full awareness of one’s historical and social origins.
It is only in recent times—thanks to the progress of anthropology and historiography, but above all due to the intense work of rediscovery carried out by the women's movement—that many names of artists, philosophers, writers, physicians, and scientists, long eclipsed by the folds of time, are coming back into the light. Thanks to this cultural ferment, it is gradually becoming possible to reconstruct the varied, complex, and layered panorama of female intellectual activity.
The project is part of this research horizon and aims to create biographical profiles of all the women who, starting from the 10th century and throughout the early modern period, managed to stand out in various fields of knowledge, enacting significant forms of resistance to the value system constructed and transmitted over the centuries by male-dominated culture.
Domizia Weber (Mus.e Firenze) | The first female surgeons of Renaissance Florence
The article examines the presence of female surgeons in Renaissance Florence, focusing on how some women managed to practice surgery despite legal and social constraints. Drawing on archival sources, it explores their roles—particularly in midwifery and minor procedures—and the importance of guilds, family ties, and informal training. The study reveals a complex interplay between practical skills and institutional barriers in early modern medical practice.
Fascicolo 2 / Issue 2
Antonino Corso (Archivio storico comunale "Giuseppe Schirò", Monreale) | La Città, Stato e Arcidiocesi di Monreale. Arcivescovi e popolo tra Controriforma e Inquisizione (XVI-XVIII sec.)
The last Norman king of Sicily, William II of Hauteville, commissioned the construction of a Benedictine abbey complex above Palermo (1174) | later issuing a series of commercial and legal exemptions that would become the foundation for the future development of the City, State, and Archdiocese of Monreale. The most important of these grants was the conferral of the title of Captain Justiciar to the Abbot of Monreale, later Archbishop, thus combining civil authority with the right to administer criminal justice, including the power to grant pardons or impose capital punishment (mero et mixto imperio).
From the mid-16th century to the mid-18th century, various prelates succeeded one another, each governing their fiefdom according to principles shaped by the religious, political, and cultural climate of their time—with a firm and severe hand, yet also with the pastoral compassion of a shepherd of souls.
Antonio D'Andria (Università degli Studi della Basilicata) | Onofrio Tataranni. Un riformatore napoletano in limine
The works of Onofrio Tataranni, composed during the last decades of eighteenth century in the Reign of Naples, represent an interesting Enlightenment project of education in knowledge and know-how. In his cultural journey converged the author’s different attitudes: religious, philosopher, humanist, historian, mathematician, pedagogue, loyal subject and "patriot". A parable of life and cultural planning (examined throughout all his works) common to that of many Southern Italy’s intellectuals who, starting from a sincere adherence to the Bourbon-based reformist philosophy, had progressively fallen apart and, in the early 1790s, they rejected a possible, fruitful collaboration between Court and intellectuals, between the State and leading groups.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | Narrazione degli avvenimenti del 1860 nel Convento di Santa Maria Occorrevole di Piedimonte d’Alife nello scoppio della Rivoluzione
A short manuscript, recently found in the historical archive of the Order of Friars Minor in Naples, tells us about the arrival of the Garibaldians, during the 1860s, to the Alcantarini convent in Santa Maria Occorrevole , near Piedimonte d'Alife (now Piedimonte Matese). It follows the rescue of the Bourbon troops, which forces the small religious community to welcome, among many difficulties, the desperate inhabitants of Piedimonte. The narrative is followed by the events that led to the inexorable end of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
Shortly after the unity of Italy, with pretentious accusations of helping the brigands and supporting the Bourbons, the guardian father of the convent of Santa Maria Occorrevole became the victim of widespread slander. There are many tribulations of the tenacious community of Santa Maria Occorrevole, due to many enemies who have tried to usurp its assets.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | L’evangelista valdese Antonio Cornelio e la comunità svizzera a Piedimonte d’Alife nel primo Novecento
The essay analyzes the correspondence entertained by the Waldensian evangelist Antonio Cornelio with members of his own Church and important political authorities.
From the correspondence we see emerge, glimpses of a life spent within religious teachings and faith, propagated always with sincerity and proud composure, in the years preceding and following the First World War. The abandonment of the order of the Alcantarini friars, the evangelical loyalty, the tireless apostolate through various centers of Campania and Molise, interpenetrate and overlap in a compelling narrative with dramatical moments. Overtime, the small Swiss community of Piedimonte d'Alife (now Piedimonte Matese) | find it hard to keep their traditions alive.
Fascicolo 3 / Issue 3
Antonio D'Onofrio (Università degli Studi L'Orientale, Napoli) | Novecento Mediterraneo (Procida, 29 settembre-3 ottobre 2018)
The Summer School “The Cultural Enterprise of the Mediterranean” has, for thirteen years now, brought together some of the most prominent scholars of the Mediterranean on the island of Procida. Unlike recent previous editions, the 2018 Summer School focused on a clearly defined chronology: the 1920s and 1930s. This allowed for a deeply multidisciplinary program, aiming to explore—with curiosity and scientific rigor—those politically intense decades, often seen in the collective imagination as a “simple” transition between the two world wars. In this spirit, from September 29 to October 3, 2018, in the splendid and evocative setting of Terra Murata, around thirty scholars from a variety of disciplines—including musicians, architects, historians, art historians, anthropologists, literary scholars, and journalists—gathered to reflect on the Mediterranean twentieth century, each from the perspective of their own field of study and research.
Miriam Palomba (Universitat de Barcelona) | Paesaggio religioso nell’Europa mediterranea, secc. XIV–XIX (Napoli, 1-5 ottobre 2018)
The fifth edition of the "Seminario di studi dottorali in storia ed economia nei paesi del Mediterraneo", held in Naples from October 1 to 5, 2018 at the Istituto di Studi sulle Società del Mediterraneo (CNR-ISSM) | was dedicated this year to the theme “Paesaggio religioso nell’Europa mediterranea (secc. XIV–XIX)”.
The theme of the paesaggio religioso (religious landscape) is used as a key analytical tool to explore a long time span—from the Middle Ages to the contemporary era—within which diverse realities are situated across space and time. The aim is to reconstruct a broad historiographical framework in order to propose interpretative and comparative models capable of encompassing multiple semantic domains.
Davide Trentacoste (Università degli Studi di Teramo) | Discriminazioni etniche e razziali e appartenenze religiose (Firenze, 24-26 ottobre 2018)
The atelier of the Sangalli Institute, now in its fourth edition, represents an engaging—and valuable—opportunity for international exchange and dialogue among young scholars. This year’s edition focused on the theme of ethnic and religious discrimination between 1400 and 1850. Over the course of the three-day event, prominent Italian scholars and numerous young researchers from around the world took turns presenting their work. This allowed for a broad overview, both chronologically and geographically, of discrimination and its various manifestations over the centuries.
Supplemento / Supplement
Erasmus, Epicureus | edited and introduced by Cristiano Rocchio (Università degli Studi di Padova)
This supplementary issue features a detailed translation and commentary on the dialogue Epicureus by Erasmus of Rotterdam, in which the philosophical exchange between Edonius and Spudaeus takes on the form of a spiritual and moral disputation. The text, centered on a Christian re-appropriation and reinterpretation of Epicurean hedonism, defends the idea that true pleasure lies in inner peace, spiritual devotion, and the love of God—rather than in corporeal or transient delights.
Through a dialectical structure that contrasts bodily and spiritual pleasures, the dialogue gradually builds a vision of the virtuous life as the only path to lasting happiness. Edonius, the protagonist, identifies Epicurus with Christ by means of etymological play and religious allegory, ultimately asserting that only the devout truly experience joy. The edition is accompanied by an Italian translation and an insightful introduction by Cristiano Rocchio, which contextualizes the work in light of Erasmus’s rhetorical strategy and theological implications.
N. 7 / 2019
Fascicolo 1 / Issue 1
Luana Rizzo (Università del Salento) | Un eretico italiano del Cinquecento. Matteo Tafuri
The essay illustrates the profile of Matteo Tafuri (1492-1584) accused, tried by the Holy Office in Rome and imprisoned for fifteen months for heresy from 1569 to 1570. The charges concern the denial of the Pontiff's power, the sacrifice of the Mass, of the communion and other articles of faith, as well as adherence to magic and astrology with its demonological implications. According to legend and popular opinion he was a necromancer. In reality he was an astrologer and expert in natural philosophy.
Daniele Santarelli (Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli") | Tra diplomazia, politica e religione. Alvise Mocenigo, ambasciatore veneziano, e la sua corrispondenza da Roma (1558-1560)
The contribution presents the correspondence from Rome of Alvise Mocenigo, Venetian ambassador to the Holy See from 1558 to 1560, spanning the pontificates of Paul IV and Pius IV. It provides various unpublished excerpts from the Rubricari of his dispatches to the Senate.
Luca Al Sabbagh (Università degli Studi di Trento) | I Crocesignati e la Giunta di Giurisdizione. Tensioni e scontri tra autorità laica ed ecclesiastica nella Reggio Emilia del XVII e XVIII secolo
Between the 17th and 18th centuries, two distinct authorities chal-lenged the judicial power of the Inquisition tribunal of Reggio. The first, a confrernity of Crocesignati sought to become independent – with the help of the Este government – from the power of Reggio Emilia’s Inquisition tribunal to which it was subjected to on tem-poral matters (mainly in the management of assets); the second, a ducal jurisdiction tried to limit the power of Reggio’s Holy Office on matters of the faith through a policy of severe control undermining the tribunal’s capacity to operate freely. This analysis is an example showing how the civil authority tried to assert its rights in judicial matters over an inquisitorial power “newly born” on one side and al-ready deteriorating on the other, creating strong tensions within the restricted boundaries of the city of Reggio Emilia
Domizia Weber (Mus.e Firenze) | Levatrici e guaritrici. Magia terapeutica, medicina e ostetricia nel'Italia moderna
This article explores the intertwined practices of healing, therapeutic magic, and midwifery in early modern Italy, focusing on women’s roles as unlicensed yet essential medical practitioners. Drawing on inquisitorial sources and trial records, it analyzes how women healers and midwives, often marginalized and accused of witchcraft, operated within rural and urban communities. Despite lacking formal education, these “wise women” relied on empirical knowledge passed down through generations, engaging in phytotherapy and symbolic rituals. The study highlights how their expertise was both sought after and feared, leading to frequent persecution in times of crisis or unexplained illness.
Fascicolo 2 / Issue 2
Daniele Santarelli (Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli") | Risorse in rete per la storia del territorio e del patrimonio culturale: il portale “Storia della Campania”
The contribution presents the web portal "Storia della Campania" (www.storiadellacampania.it) | recently launched, outlining its objectives and development potential.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | La sezione "Fonti" del portale “Storia della Campania”: l’edizione digitale al servizio della storia del territorio
The contribution presents the "Fonti" (Sources) section of the web portal “Storia della Campania” (www.storiadellacampania.it) | which hosts transcriptions of sources accompanied by commentary and historical as well as historiographical contextualization.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | Il duca e il vescovo a Piedimonte d’Alife in età barocca. I moventi della discordia tra Alfonso II Gaetani dell’Aquila d’Aragona e monsignor Girolamo Maria Zambeccari
The reasons for discord between Alfonso II Gaetani of Aquila of Aragon and Monsignor Girolamo Maria Zambeccari, from an unpublished correspondence, found at Camillo Caetani Foundation's archive in Rome. A well-researched historical and philological essay on an Ancient Regime feudal court - Gaetani of Aquila of Aragon's in Piedimonte d'Alife (now Piedimonte Matese) - which was among the first in the Kingdom of Naples. The Duke - who died while still young fighting in Catalonia - and the Bishop - who had already escaped a ferocious attempt at his life when he was Inquisitor in Correggio - soon came to an open clash, although they had attempted to come to an agreement that came to nothing. In a bloody and tenacious play of roles, among deceits, defenses and open recriminations, the great theatre of the world of the Baroque Age presents an unknown scenario, not unlike though from Manzonian places and characters. Lights and shadows - together with feelings and impressions, eternal and voluble in the human soul - alternate while new perspectives to be known and thoroughly investigated open up to us.
Veronica Sileo (Università degli Studi della Basilicata) | Nel costituzionalismo europeo: la Costituzione di Cadice
The article analyzes doctrinal influences on the Spanish Constitution of 1812, also known as the Constitution of Cadiz, that was adopted in Spain and in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies even in 1820-21. The document is a liberal constitution establishing constitutional rights, a representative government, and a parliamentary monarchy. Its ideological basis is on the one hand the constitutional French experience arising from the Revolution, on the other hand the English constitutional thought. There are three possible constitutional sources that influenced the deputies of 1812 in the drafting the text of the Constitution of Cadiz: the American Constitution of 1787, the English constitutional tradition and the various revolutionary French Constitutions. The Constitution of Cadiz, although only applied between 1812 and 1813, from 1820 to 1823 and in 1836, left a deep mark in the Hispanic constitutionalism. It introduced important changes althought limited by the Catholic and traditionalist character of Spanish society.
Fascicolo 3 / Issue 3
Gianna Pinotti (Indipendent Researcher, Mantova) | Il Crocifisso a braccia mobili di Michelangelo per il priore di Santo Spirito, “spietata immagine” savonaroliana e Cristo in Pietà: una nuova proposta attributiva
This essay tries to identify an important early work by Buonarroti, the wodden Crucifix executed in 1493 for the prior of the convent of Santo Spirito in Florence, penetrating the thoughts and intentions of the genius of the Renaissance when he started studying anatomy, opening the doors to the modern age.
This new and revolutionary attributive proposal refers to Michelangelo the Crucifix with movable arms that today is located in the basilica of Santa Croce in Florence; this work has always been referred to Donatello: this Crucifix carved by the cross becomes an evocative Man of Sorrows, born of an exstraordinay direct knowledge of the anatomy that will pave the way for the execution of a new type of Crucifix: this sculpture connects to the florentine artistic context affected by the Savonarolisan reform.
The identifying investigations make use of new historical sources and of philological and iconographic analyzes linked to totally unfathomed historical and artistic dynamics.
The Crucifix with movable arms placed today in the basilica of Santa Croce seems to announce the successive important stages of Michelangelo’s masterpieces.
N. 8 / 2020
Fascicolo 1 / Issue 1
Daniele Santarelli (Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli") | Domizia Weber (Mus.E Firenze) | Comunicare la storia del dissenso mediterraneo attraverso un network di Digital Humanists: il progetto Ereticopedia e il suo percorso
The contribution is the transcription of a paper presented at the conference “I hope that someone gets my message in a bottle”. Indagine sul destinatario (University of Salerno, Department of Humanities, 6–8 November 2018) | and highlights the path followed in recent years by the Ereticopedia project in communicating the history of political, religious, scientific, and literary dissent in the early modern Mediterranean world to an increasingly broad and diverse audience.
Domizia Weber (Mus.E Firenze) | Ferite dell’anima e ferite del corpo: la medicalizzazione della confessione in età moderna
This contribution funnels the considerations arisen after the publication of some recent studies on the link between medicine and religion. My essay deals with the connection between the figure of the physician and the one of the confessor in the Early Modern Age, dwelling on the topic of the proximity between body and soul. In highlighting the cultural process of confession’s medicalization, this paper underlines the particular importance that confessors and physicians attributed to listening ability in secret and discretion. Specific literature, addressed to confessors and physicians, reiterated the need to heal soul’s and body’s wounds getting a passive and comprehensive attitude to penitents and to patients who had turned to them to confess their fears as well as to get some comfort. In this way, a kind of joint between these two figures stood out, bearing in mind the similarities and the professional secret that distinguished their behaviour.
Mauro Fasan (Indipendent Researcher) | Benandanti e streghe nel Friuli del Seicento. Un caso ad Annone Veneto
This study analyses a trial of the Holy Office of Aquileia against a benandante from Annone Veneto (Diocese of Concordia) that took place in 1676.
Its context is the Friulian countryside in the second half of the 17th century, when superstitions about those nati con la camicia were still very deeply rooted.
The character of the benandante Andrea Cattaros emerges among supporters and detractors. He was well integrated in the community and local people looked for him.
At that time benandanti were believed to have healing powers and, according to recent records, they were fully convinced about their own function against witchcraft.
Moreover, inquisition documents have enabled to better understand the interpretation of this phenomenon by the Church in a historical time, when a growing scepticism about magic and witchcraft was setting in among ecclesiastical institutions.
For years, the Inquisition has tried to set the phenomenon of the benandanti into its own patterns. The myth that has reached us has been strongly influenced by the interpretations of bishops and inquisitors in their time.
Vincenzo Vozza (Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli") | Su alcune lettere di Stefania Omboni a Sibilla Aleramo (1901-1915). Donne moderne tra stampa emancipazionista, attivismo politico e aspirazioni profetiche
Following the recent publication of the first and most thoroughly documented biography of Stefania Omboni (1839–1917) | some of the lesser-known aspects of the English benefactress—who, over the past two decades, has mostly been studied for her philanthropic work or her contribution to the feminist emancipation movement—have come to light. This contribution primarily aims to offer the complete edition of the epistolary corpus between Stefania Omboni and Sibilla Aleramo (1876–1960) | known at the time as Rina Pierangeli Faccio, as a historical source on the friendship that united the two women in the early years of the twentieth century. This documentary testimony, preserved in Aleramo’s personal archive held at the Fondazione Gramsci (Rome) | has been more than sufficient to sketch the context, yet it leaves room for further investigation. The correspondence, hitherto unpublished, consists of 34 letters sent by Omboni. On this occasion, the contribution will also highlight certain parallels between the work that cemented Sibilla Aleramo’s literary fame, Una donna (1906) | and the historical reality emerging from the letters, as seen through Omboni’s partial perspective: editorial activity in support of the emancipationist cause, cultural ties with the Italian and international intellectual elite, and the controversial relationship with the existentialist writer (referred to as “the prophet”) Umano, a.k.a. Gaetano Meale.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | Complotti, intrighi e trame oscure nella rete di monsignor Umberto Benigni (1918-1934)
By carefully examining Monsignior Umberto Benigni (1862-1934)'s fund, at the Foreign Office (ASMAE)'s Historical Archive in Rome, a complex conspiratorial world comes to be known which, starting from the second decade of the twentieth century, by way of complex plots unravelled in antimodernist key within the Catholic Church. The topics found in the Umbrian prelate's wide correspondence deal with the Masonic activities in France, the overflowing Jesuitical presence in Central America, the English occultist Aleister Crowley's activity in Paris, where black magic found fertile ground.
N° 9 / 2021
Fascicolo 1 / Issue 1
Daniele Santarelli (Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli") | In viaggio con la propria libertà. Diaspore di eretici e dissidenti tra Europa e Mediterraneo nella prima età moderna
This essay explores the religious and political diasporas of heretics and dissenters across Europe and the Mediterranean in the early modern age. Starting with the symbolic figure of the printer Gioacchino Brugnolo and his motto “Libertatem meam mecum porto,” the study analyzes the mechanisms of religious exile following the failure of Protestant reforms in Italy and Spain. The essay delves into the distinctive paths of heterodox movements, shaped by figures like Juan de Valdés, and the intertwining of Italian and Spanish dissent through cultural and ideological contamination. Special attention is given to the role of Calvinism in shaping Mediterranean dissent, examining its diffusion through commercial and intellectual networks. The work concludes by reconstructing the trajectories of key dissident figures and their communities, emphasizing the persistence of religious freedom as a personal, portable condition.
Mariano Ciarletta (Università degli Studi di Salerno) | Élites Transnazionali. Gli Acquaviva di Caserta tra lignaggi, onorificenze, donne al potere e architettura (secoli XVI-XVII)
This article investigates the transnational strategies of the Acquaviva family of Caserta between the 16th and 17th centuries, focusing on their efforts to consolidate power and prestige through kinship networks, noble titles, female agency, and architectural patronage. The study traces the family’s political and social mobility across different European courts, analyzing how women played a central role in managing estates and securing dynastic alliances. Architectural projects commissioned by the Acquaviva are also examined as symbols of cultural identity and instruments of legitimization. By framing the Acquaviva within the broader context of European nobility, the article contributes to a reevaluation of Southern Italian aristocratic elites as active and interconnected agents on a continental scale.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | Condizioni economiche della baronia di Prata, in Terra di Lavoro, attraverso il relevio del 1706
This contribution reconstructs the economic conditions of the barony of Prata, located in Terra di Lavoro, through an analysis of a relevio from 1706—a feudal document listing properties and obligations upon succession. By examining the inventory of goods, lands, and income sources, the article provides insight into the rural economy of Southern Italy at the beginning of the 18th century. It highlights the persistence of feudal structures and the role of minor nobility in land management. The study also sheds light on the social and economic networks that supported the local aristocracy, offering a microhistorical perspective on the intersection between estate management and broader regional dynamics.
Fabio D’Angelo (Università degli Studi della Repubblica di San Marino) | Rifondare la scienza, riformare lo Stato. L’esperienza di Carmine Lippi, “modernizzatore delle periferie europee” al servizio della patria
This article examines the intellectual and political career of Carmine Lippi, a lesser-known yet emblematic figure of scientific and administrative modernization in peripheral European contexts. Active during a period of significant institutional transformation, Lippi combined scientific knowledge with a strong commitment to civic reform. The study explores his efforts to modernize education, promote public health, and introduce rational administrative practices in service of the state. By framing Lippi as a “modernizer of European peripheries,” the article sheds light on the circulation of Enlightenment ideals beyond central institutions and underscores the crucial role of provincial actors in state-building and knowledge production.
Silvio de Majo (Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II) | Un Pasquale Villani inconsueto e poco conosciuto: la collaborazione al Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani
This article offers a lesser-known perspective on the work of historian Pasquale Villani by focusing on his contributions to the Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani. Often recognized for his broader historical syntheses, Villani’s role as a biographical scholar is here examined through the lens of his editorial and research practices. The article highlights his attention to marginal or overlooked figures, his methodological rigor, and the intellectual network surrounding his entries. This reassessment enriches the understanding of Villani’s scholarly trajectory and illustrates the relevance of biographical writing in shaping historiographical discourse in contemporary Italy.
Fascicolo 2 / Issue 2
Luca Al Sabbagh (Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli") | «Noi i libri li scriviamo»
This paper critically reviews Marcello Verga’s book on monarchical succession laws and reflects on current trends in historical scholarship and publishing.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | Il patrimonio delle tradizioni popolari a Piedimonte Matese
The contribution explores the popular traditions of Piedimonte Matese through the ethnographic work of Luigi Lombardi Satriani.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | Borbonia splatter
A critical review of Luca Addante’s book on violence and cannibalism in Bourbon Naples, questioning the use of sensationalism in historiography.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | Napoleone, il primo degli uomini moderni
A review of Mascilli Migliorini’s book on Napoleon’s final years, emphasizing its narrative and psychological depth.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | Populismo e monarchia
An analysis of the relationship between populism and monarchy in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | La Rivoluzione francese tra predizioni e retrodizioni
The article explores prophetic and retrospective views of the French Revolution.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | Pazzo per Marianna e tutte le sue rivoluzioni
A reflection on Marianne as a revolutionary symbol across modern European history.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | Benedetto Croce e il suo “antifascismo conservatore”
A reassessment of Croce’s antifascism as rooted in a conservative liberal tradition.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | Eugenio Di Rienzo, esegeta di Benedetto Croce e Gioacchino Volpe
An intellectual portrait of Di Rienzo through his interpretations of Croce and Volpe.
Patricia Chiantera Stutte (Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro") | Animus comune
The article explores the friendship between Kaegi and Cantimori and their shared historical sensibilities.
Daniele Santarelli (Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli") | Tutta la Mala Università che ci opprime
A critique of dysfunction in the Italian university system, including nepotism and lack of meritocracy, based on the book 'Mala Università' by Giambattista Scirè.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | Vita avventurosa del pirata Uccialì
A biographical sketch of Uccialì, from slavery to admiralty in the Ottoman navy.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | Impressioni d’Italia
Historical impressions of Italy from the viewpoint of foreign travelers and commentators.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | Una storia di storie
A reflection on the nature of storytelling and historiography.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | L’eredità romana di Napoleone
Explores the Roman influence on Napoleonic political culture.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | Il fascismo in Basilicata (1921–1940)
An overview of fascism’s local dynamics in Basilicata.
Vladimiro Satta (Senato della Repubblica – Servizio Studi) | Federico Umberto d’Amato, spia intoccabile
A profile of d’Amato, a key figure in Italian Cold War intelligence.
Nicola D’Elia (Indipendent Researcher) | Le lettere di Werner Kaegi a Delio Cantimori
Presents and analyzes Kaegi’s correspondence with Cantimori.
Nicola D’Elia (Indipendent Researcher) | Il tempo senza storia di Adriano Prosperi
Examines Adriano Prosperi’s concept of a 'time without history'.
Nicola D’Elia (Indipendent Researcher) | Autoritarismo mondiale
Analyzes the global resurgence of authoritarian regimes.
Supplemento / Supplement
Maria Rita Battaglia (CPIA Caserta) | Docete omnes. Disamina di andragogia
This supplementary issue is dedicated to a comprehensive study of andragogy, understood as adult education in its historical, theoretical, and applicative dimensions. In a sweeping reflection that spans from Socratic dialogue to European education policies, Maria Rita Battaglia explores the pedagogical and social functions of andragogy through eighteen thematic sections. The study traces the roots of andragogy from classical antiquity to the concept of long life learning, emphasizing the shift from traditional teaching models to facilitative and participatory methods.
Topics include the epistemological foundation of andragogy, its development within the framework of humanistic psychology and the European platform EPALE, and its application in contexts such as cultural heritage education, environmental citizenship, prison education, intercultural dialogue, and global sustainable development. The volume also offers in-depth considerations on innovative practices like storytelling, gaming, philosophy thinking, problem-solving, and autobiographical education, highlighting their transformative potential in adult learning. The work proposes andragogy not merely as a methodology, but as a cultural and ethical stance toward inclusive and conscious lifelong education.
N° 10 / 2022
Fascicolo 1 / Issue 1
Daniele Santarelli (Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli") | Dieci anni di Ereticopedia e di “Quaderni eretici”
This introductory article marks the tenth anniversary of the Ereticopedia project and its journal, Quaderni eretici. The author reflects on the project's origins, launched in 2013 as a precarious and uncertain initiative, and celebrates its evolution into a thriving platform for historical research. Emphasis is placed on the collaborative and interdisciplinary nature of the initiative, as well as its openness to scholars from diverse backgrounds. The piece also highlights associated projects inspired by Ereticopedia, which have contributed to a broader public engagement with the humanities.
Federica Dallasta (Università degli Studi di Parma) | Nuovi studi su Inquisizione e censura libraria a Parma fra XIII e XIX secolo
This article presents new archival and bibliographic research on the Inquisition and book censorship in Parma from the 13th to the 19th century. Through a chronological survey of documents—some previously unpublished—the study reconstructs key moments in local inquisitorial history, including trials, censorship edicts, and the role of individual figures such as inquisitors, nobles, and jurists. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the cultural and legal mechanisms of religious control in a regional context.
Vincenzo Vozza (Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli") | Le scritture antigesuitiche di Ascanio Cesarini. I Novi Advertimenti (1564) sull’affaire del Seminario romano
The essay explores Ascanio Cesarini’s 1564 anti-Jesuit text, Novi Advertimenti, which addresses the early conflict surrounding the Roman Seminary. By offering a critical edition and analysis of the text, the study reveals the ideological and institutional resistance to Jesuit influence in post-Tridentine Rome. It situates Cesarini’s critique within the broader context of ecclesiastical reform and intra-Church tensions.
Stefano Zen (Liceo Statale «Giuseppe Mazzini», Napoli) | “Padre Camillo andò a mettersi nel S. Officio”. Filippo Neri, i padri dell’Oratorio e Camillo Severini
This contribution examines the relationship between the Oratorians and the Roman Inquisition, focusing on Camillo Severini’s involvement with the Holy Office. Drawing on historical documentation, the article illuminates the delicate balance between spiritual innovation and doctrinal conformity in the early Oratorian movement, as well as Filippo Neri’s influence on his disciples’ attitudes toward ecclesiastical authority.
Mauro Fasan (Indipendent Researcher) | Stregoneria e disciplinamento del clero nella Bassa friulana, da un processo del Santo Ufficio di inizio Seicento
Based on an inquisitorial trial from early 17th-century Friuli, this article investigates the intersection of witchcraft accusations and clerical discipline. The case reveals how the Holy Office used witchcraft as a tool to regulate the behavior of priests and enforce moral standards within the local clergy. The analysis sheds light on broader strategies of religious control in rural contexts during the Counter-Reformation.
Fascicolo 2 / Issue 2
Elisa Tundo (Università del Salento) | Filosofia e magia in Terra d’Otranto
A review of a volume on Renaissance magic and philosophy in Terra d’Otranto, highlighting the role of local humanists in the broader intellectual debates on natural knowledge, astrology, and Hermetic thought.
Francesca Vera Romano (Sapienza - Università di Roma) | A proposito di un libro sulla vita religiosa a Procida
A critical review of *Procida sacra*, a recent book on religious practices on the island of Procida. The article points out historiographical gaps and emphasizes overlooked aspects of local resistance to post-Tridentine discipline.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | Federico II e la crociata della pace
A review of Fulvio Delle Donne’s book on Frederick II’s peaceful crusade. The article explores the emperor’s diplomatic achievement of reclaiming Jerusalem without bloodshed, despite his excommunication.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | Il discrimine della Riforma tridentina tra nuovi sviluppi storiografici e pesanti eredità
This review of Massimo Firpo’s work reflects on recent historiographical debates about the Catholic Reformation and the legacy of the Council of Trent, questioning the gap between reform ideals and actual ecclesiastical practices.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | L’Italia nel Mediterraneo in una prospettiva globale
Reviewing Egidio Ivetic’s book, the article examines Italy’s role in Mediterranean history from antiquity to modern times, emphasizing cultural exchanges, maritime powers, and shifting geopolitical dynamics.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | Vitalità, tensioni e pulsioni di Maria Sofia, l’ultima regina del Sud
A biographical portrait of Maria Sofia of Bavaria, the last queen of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, exploring her political resilience, personal charisma, and symbolic legacy.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | Gabriele D’Annunzio, poeta, guerriero e diplomatico ai tempi dell’impresa fiumana
A reflection on D’Annunzio’s multifaceted role during the Fiume expedition, portraying him as a poet-warrior and political actor in the turbulent aftermath of World War I.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | «Andai perché ci si crede». Vita e morte dell’anarchico Serantini
A tribute to Franco Serantini, a young anarchist who died in police custody in 1972. The article revisits his story as a symbol of political idealism and institutional violence.
N° 11 / 2023
Fascicolo unico / Single Issue
Daniele Santarelli (Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli") | Il Repertorio degli inquisitori e delle sedi inquisitoriali
A digital directory of inquisitors and tribunals from 1542 onward, supporting research on the Roman, Spanish, and Portuguese Inquisitions.
Laura Antonella Piras (Università degli Studi di Sassari) | “Dominae fortunae suae”: un progetto trasversale
A project exploring the intellectual contribution of women and their resistance to imposed cultural roles.
Daniele Santarelli (Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli") & Domizia Weber (Istituto Agrario Statale di Firenze) | “Primum non nocere”. Medicina, eresia e non conformismo nella prima età moderna
Examines the lives of early modern physicians accused of heresy due to their scientific and personal beliefs.
Daniele Santarelli (Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli") & Domizia Weber Istituto (Agrario Statale di Firenze) | Tra stereotipi e anomalie: per una prosopografia delle streghe in età moderna
A prosopographical approach to witches in early modern Europe, challenging stereotypes through data and diversity.
Stefano Zen (Liceo Statale «Giuseppe Mazzini» di Napoli) | Oratorio e Congregazione oratoriana: storia, spiritualità, politica culturale
Profiles the Oratorian congregation and its influence in cultural, religious, and intellectual history.
Francesco Baroni (Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia) | Mesmerismo, occultismo, spiritismo. Eterodossie del XIX secolo
Overview of 19th-century heterodox spiritualities including mesmerism and occultism.
Daniele Santarelli, Repertorio degli eretici capuani e casertani del XVI secolo
A directory of 16th-century heretics from Capua and Caserta, detailing local dissent and persecution.
Donato Verardi (Università degli Studi "Ca' Foscari" - Venezia) | Dizionario storico delle scienze naturali a Napoli dal Rinascimento all’Illuminismo
A collaborative dictionary tracing Naples' natural sciences from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment.
Alessio Maceroli, Angelantonio Marcello & Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | Dizionario biografico dei legionari fiumani provenienti dalla Campania
Biographical dictionary of Campanian volunteers in D’Annunzio’s Fiume expedition.
Antonio D’Andria, Antonio Cecere & Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | Dizionario degli storici meridionali
Biographical entries on Southern Italian historians from the Renaissance to the early 20th century.
Ranieri M. Gaetani, M. R. Battaglia, A. Giaquinto & Armando Pepe, Dizionario biografico della famiglia Gaetani dell’Aquila d’Aragona di Laurenzana
A biographical dictionary of the Gaetani family of Laurenzana, based on archival sources.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | Dizionario biografico dei briganti di Terra di Lavoro in età napoleonica
A dictionary of bandits in Terra di Lavoro during the Napoleonic era, analyzing networks and criminal patterns.
Daniele Santarelli (Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli") | Un nuovo portale per la storia di Firenze e della Toscana
Presentation of a digital platform for the study of the history of Florence and Tuscany.
N° 12 / 2024
Fascicolo unico / Single Issue
Gianna Pinotti (Indipendent Researcher) | Lorenzo il Magnifico come Cesare dei Trionfi del Mantegna. Nuovi percorsi storico-artistici di un’opera controcorrente
This article explores the hypothesis that Lorenzo de’ Medici, known as Il Magnifico, was allegorically portrayed as Julius Caesar in Andrea Mantegna’s famous cycle The Triumphs of Caesar. Starting from the premise of a personal and intellectual relationship between the Florentine prince and the Mantuan painter, the essay reconstructs their historical encounters—particularly Lorenzo’s visit to Mantegna’s house in Mantua in 1483—and examines the artist’s request for financial support sent to Lorenzo in 1484. The author identifies iconographic and emblematic elements in the ninth panel of the Triumphs that may reflect Lorenzo’s features and symbolic universe, such as the presence of laurel (a direct reference to Lorenzo’s name) | the image of Medusa (inspired by the Farnese Cup) | and allusions to Florentine identity through classical motifs. By proposing a politically and artistically grounded interpretation, the study sheds new light on Mantegna’s creative intentions and on Lorenzo’s self-representation as a ruler of imperial stature.
Federica Dallasta (Università degli Studi di Parma) | Facultas inquisitores instituendi. Documenti inediti sulla nomina dei giudici della fede nel XVI secolo, con un focus sui ducati farnesiani di Parma e Piacenza
This contribution presents and analyzes previously unpublished documents concerning the granting of the facultas inquisitores instituendi, i.e., the power to appoint inquisitors, during the 16th century, with particular attention to the territories of the Farnese duchies of Parma and Piacenza. Through a close examination of papal and episcopal sources, the study sheds light on the mechanisms of delegation and control that regulated the local implementation of inquisitorial authority. The research highlights the complex dynamics between the Roman Curia, episcopal power, and secular rulers, as well as the role of individual prelates and political agents in negotiating appointments and jurisdictional prerogatives. The findings contribute to a better understanding of the interplay between ecclesiastical and political structures in the management of religious orthodoxy during the Counter-Reformation.
Alessandro Giaquinto (Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli") | “Vi si sono trovate due scanzie di legno, tinte, fornite di libri, come dalla nota separata”. L’inventario dell’appartamento vescovile della diocesi di Caserta nel XVIII secolo
This article presents and contextualizes the inventory of the episcopal apartment of the Diocese of Caserta, compiled in the 18th century. The document offers a detailed description of the furnishings, objects, and especially the presence of books—explicitly mentioned in the expression “Vi si sono trovate due scanzie di legno, tinte, fornite di libri, come dalla nota separata”. Through a careful philological and material analysis, the author reconstructs the intellectual and domestic environment of the bishopric, shedding light on the role of the episcopal residence as a place of governance, representation, and personal cultivation. The study contributes to the broader understanding of the material culture of the clergy in Southern Italy during the Ancien Régime.
Armando Pepe (Liceo Statale "Galileo Galilei", Piedimonte Matese) | Momenti di vita ecclesiastica e civile di monsignor Felice del Sordo, vescovo della diocesi di Alife dal 1911 al 1928
This study reconstructs key aspects of the ecclesiastical and civil activity of Monsignor Felice del Sordo, bishop of the Diocese of Alife from 1911 to 1928. Drawing on diocesan archives, pastoral letters, and contemporary press sources, the author highlights the initiatives undertaken by the prelate in a period marked by social and political transformation, including the First World War and the rise of Fascism. The article explores the bishop’s efforts in the fields of catechesis, clerical formation, charitable work, and relations with local institutions, offering a nuanced portrait of a churchman engaged in balancing religious responsibilities and civic duties. Particular attention is given to the pastoral style and the challenges faced in managing a small diocese in Southern Italy during the early 20th century.
Daniele Santarelli (Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli") | Ma che bella famigliola! Le piccole beghe familiari dei Firpo nella grande storia della UTET
This paper analyzes the memoir Lo «zio Verde», la UTET e altre storie di famiglia by Alessandro and Massimo Firpo (Aragno, 2022), which recounts a series of private family disputes entangled with the broader editorial and cultural history of the UTET publishing house: drawing on letters, testimonies, and previously unpublished archival materials, the authors reconstructs moments of tension and irony in the management of intellectual property, personal legacy, and editorial authority. The narrative, while rooted in microhistory, opens a window onto the inner dynamics of the Italian academic and publishing world in the 20th century. The title “Ma che bella famigliola!” reflects the sardonic tone adopted to recount a story of vanity, rivalry, and ambition that played out behind the scenes of scholarly production.
Supplemento / Supplement
Astrid Pellicano (Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli") | Le baby gang, un fenomeno sociale e territoriale in evoluzione: il caso studio Napoli
Baby gangs are a phenomenon of juvenile group deviance characterized by a considerable variety of behaviors that are not always connected, making the homogenization of their characteristics complex in order to encompass the many facets that emerge. It is a social and territorial phenomenon, both because it mainly spreads in metropolitan areas and because it changes depending on the specific territory. Naples represents a particular case study (as shown by data from Istat, Juvenile Prosecutors, and the Department for Juvenile Justice), where the phenomenon takes on alarming aspects: not only nighttime gatherings involving fights, thefts, robberies, assaults, sexual violence, acts of harassment, and even murders, often committed by native youths, many of whom already live in criminal environments. The presence of girls and the lowering of the average age are both increasing, along with school dropout rates, as a result of the underlying discomfort of a society of well-being, which leaves these young people unaware of the consequences such crimes may have on their future lives.
The case study aims to provide useful qualitative and quantitative indicators concerning this complex issue, which increasingly involves young people and carries somewhat pejorative implications, linked to social networks, rap culture, and paternal figures. It also seeks to analyze the specific connotations that these episodes assume in relation to adults, society at large, and institutions.
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et tamen e summo, quasi fulmen, deicit ictos
invidia inter dum contemptim in Tartara taetra
invidia quoniam ceu fulmine summa vaporant
plerumque et quae sunt aliis magis edita cumque
[Lucretius, "De rerum natura", lib. V]