Il liceo napoleonico di Brescia

The introduction of high schools (licei) in the Italian Republic (1802) was almost coeval with its creation in France. Established in the department’s capital city, the modern high school system represented a new beginning, not only educational but cultural as well. The intentions of the Napoleonic regime was to use high schools to educate future élite generations to both civil and military career or to practice law, medicine, or other professions in the sciences and literature. This essay focuses on the liceo of Brescia, one of the most important cities in Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, on the basis of rich archival sources.