Jewish Law and Italian Local Laws

Vittore Colorni was born in Mantua in 1912. He graduated in Law in Bologna in 1933. The racial laws of 1938 forced Colorni to leave Mantua. Armed with false documents, he and his family moved to Rome, where Vittore continued his studies, evading the prohibitions imposed on Jews. In 1945 he published the volume Legge ebraica e leggi locali (Jewish law and Italian local laws). He was then called to teach Ecclesiastical Law (1946-1956) and History of Italian Law (1956-1987) at Ferrara University. Between 1969 and 1971 he chaired as Faculty Dean. His favorite field of research was always the history of Italian Jewry. Vittore Colorni was both an eminent historian and a distinguished scholar. His entire scope of studies remains unmatched due to his thorough research in countless libraries and state archives in Italy and abroad and his extensive analysis of every uncovered document. The essays he gathered on the specificity of Jewish culture in Judaica Minora (1983) and the methodological rigor in their exposition became a model of interdisciplinary research methods.

Translator’s Note

Vittore Colorni (1912–2005): a Historian of Law and (Jewish) Minority

Jews, “Economy”, and the Law in the Works of Vittore Colorni

History of Italian Jews and History of Italian Law Revisited



Introduction



Part 1: The Status Civitatis

1 The Roman Empire and Italy in Particular

 1 The Pagan Age

 2 The Christian Age



2 Italy – The Ostrogoth Age



3 Italy – The Longobard Age



4 The Holy Roman Empire and Italy in Particular

 1 The Carolingian and Pre-Feudal Age

 2 The Feudal Age

 3 The Intermediate Period (From the Glossators to The Emancipation)



Part 2: Jewish Law and State Law

Section 1: The Conflict between Jewish Law and Local Laws in General and with Regard to the Norms of Private Law

5 The Roman Empire and Italy in Particular



6 The Ostrogothic Age



7 The Longobard Age



8 The Holy Roman Empire and Italy in Particular

 1 Carolingian and Feudal Age

 2 Intermediate Period



Section 2: The Conflict Concerning Constitutional Principles: the Question of Referral

9 The Constitutional Principles

 1 General Principles on the Legality of the State and Its Organs and the Constitutionality of the Laws

 2 Principles About the Legitimacy of the Administrative Acts

 3 Principles About the Validity of the Judicial Proceedings



10 The Deferment Question

 1 The Form of the Acts

 2 The Substantive Law



PART 3: The Jurisdictional Autonomy

11 General Principles



12 From the Roman Period to the 13th Century

 1 The Roman and Byzantine Period

 2 The Ostrogothic Period

 3 The Longobard Period

 4 The Carolingian Period



13 From the 14th to the 19th Century

 1 The Kingdom of Sicily

 2 The Kingdom of Naples

 3 The Papal States (Except Ferrara)

 4 The Grand Duchy of Tuscany

 5 The Duchy of Piedmont

 6 The Marquisate of Monferrato

 7 The Duchy of Milan

 8 The Duchy of Ferrara

 9 The Duchy of Modena and Reggio

 10 The Venetian Republic

 11 The Duchy of Mantua

Appendix of Documents

Index of Authors Cited

General Index