Lodovico Antonio Muratori: An Intellectual in the Republic of Letters

Lodovico Antonio Muratori (1672–1750) was one of the most prominent intellectuals of eighteenth-century Europe. His scholarship spanned from philosophy to jurisprudence, from history to epigraphy, from theology to medicine, and his political and social vision was regarded as the manifesto of the prevailing politics on the Peninsula in the first half of the eighteenth century (the so-called “Muratorian age”), precursing the Age of Enlightenment. However, despite his undisputed importance, there is not adequate awareness of Muratori’s work and personality outside of Italy. Lodovico Antonio Muratori: An Intellectual in the Republic of Letters aims at providing scholars with a reference tool on Muratori’s life and works, featuring contributions of both distinguished and young international scholars on all the main aspects of his production, taking into account European politics, culture, philosophy, history, law, medicine, and the society of the first half of eighteenth century.

About the Author

Matteo Al Kalak is Full Professor of Modern History at the Department of Linguistic and Cultural Studies and Director of the Interdepartmental Research Center on Dgtl Humanities at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. His research is primarily focused on religious history, encompassing institutional aspects as well as manifestations related to dissent, reformism, and protest. A significant portion of his research has also addressed the erudite tradition of the eighteenth century and its connections with religious reformism and jurisdictionalism. In this context, he has conducted extensive research on the figure and work of Lodovico Antonio Muratori and the Este political-cultural tradition. He is responsible for the media library project Lodovico (www.lodovico.medialibrary.it), dedicated to the digitisation of cultural heritage.

Marco Capriotti is Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. His research mainly focuses on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Italian literature and culture, including Giacomo Leopardi, Pietro Metastasio, Paolo Rolli, and Arcadian poetry. In 2022, he published a study on the phenomenon of erudite poetic improvisation in eighteenth-century Italy ( L’improvvisazione poetica nell’Italia del Settecento , 2 volumes, Rome, 2022). He is an editorial board member of the journal per Leggere .

Gianvittorio Signorotto held the position of Full Professor of Modern History in the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia from 2002 until 2016. His research focuses on the relationship between political power and religious authority in early modern Europe (particularly from sixteenth to eighteenth century). His work has addressed the historiographical tradition related to the so-called “age of decline”, considering the construction of Italian identity from the end of the Ancien régime to the crisis of modernity. He has also explored the relationship between foreign policy and constitutional and social dynamics in Italian and European states of the early modern period.