This conference addresses a subject which is still under-researched in spite of its relevance for our knowledge of the eighteenth century and beyond: the relation of Cesare Beccaria to British culture.
In 1767, Cesare Beccaria’s “Dei delitti e delle pene” appeared in English for the first time under the title of “An Essay on Crimes and Punishments”. Beccaria’s masterpiece, a European bestseller which had galvanized the attention of intellectuals and sovereigns, was to have enormous influence also in the English-speaking countries, resonating across a great range of fields.
On the 250th anniversary of this translation, scholars from many disciplines – philosophy, legal studies, history, literary studies – will discuss the place of British culture in the works of Beccaria and his circle, and their impact, as yet unassessed, on eighteenth-century British philosophy, law and literature.

The conference will take place at Sapienza Università di Roma, Aula Levi della Vida, Ex Vetrerie Sciarra, Via dei Volsci 122 (San Lorenzo).