Abstract
Justice and Crime in Late Eighteenth-Century Mantua
This essays starts with a general survey of the radical reforms of justice
carried out in Austrian Lombardy during the reign of Joseph II, including
the restructuring of courts and the adoption of a new regulation for
criminal trials (the Norma interinale del processo criminale, published in
1786). It then focuses on the functions and activities of the Appellation
and other Courts in the province of Mantua, a territory comprising
218.000 inhabitants. On the basis of rich archival sources, the author
depicts the range of crimes brought to trials and of the punishments inflicted;
he also illustrates the working of criminal procedure in a short,
but eventful stretch of time (1789-1796). The analysis of individual
criminal cases and of the statistical tables periodically drawn up by judges
directs our attention to the underlying social and economic problems,
magnified by the difficulties of the time both in Lombardy and in Europe
as a whole. Offenses against property tend to grow in number; they
are usually committed by poor peasants, handworkers or vagrants and
are invariably dealt harsh sentences; begging is more and more widespread,
violence is rife in families and communities; riots are not infrequent,
especially against Jewish minorities. In spite of the shortage in
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bureaucratic and police personnel, the Mantual magistracy swiftly deals
with a growing number of trials (thousands of trials in a few years) and
succeeds in coping with crime repression without giving up respect for
procedure and for the basic rights of defendants
Titolo tradotto del contributo | [Autom. eng. transl.] Justice and crime in the late eighteenth century Mantovano |
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Lingua originale | Italian |
pagine (da-a) | 163-211 |
Numero di pagine | 49 |
Rivista | ARCHIVIO STORICO LOMBARDO |
Volume | CXXXVII |
Stato di pubblicazione | Pubblicato - 2011 |
Keywords
- Criminal Justice
- Giustizia penale storia
- Lombardia Austriaca
- Mantova XVIII secolo
- Mantua 18th century