Projet d'une Reforme a faire en Italia, ou moyens de corriger les abus les plus dangereux & de reformer les Loix les plus pernicieuses, establies en Italie. Ouvrage traduit de l'Italien.

Amsterdam: Marc Michel Rey, 1769. 8vo. 170x 110 mm. (6 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches). [4], 279, [1], 24 pp. 18th century Dutch decorative paper boards; spine and joints rubbed, otherwise a sound copy.

First edition in French, originally appearing in Villafranca (i.e. Venice) in 1767. Educated in the law at universities in Venice, Salzburg, Leipzig and Góttigen, Carlo Antonio Pilati ( 1733-1802) understood not only the tenants of Italian and French enlightenment thinking but also the German School that contained a Protestant focus and examples of reform as advocated by the Hapsburgs in Austria. By 1758 he had progressed through the Italian legal system and was appointed chair of Civil Law at the university in Trento. After a few years of travel in the 1760’s to the capitals of Europe and meeting the leading lights of the time, he composed his Di una Riforma d'Italia as it was titled in Italy, which was viewed at the time as both a "manifesto and a militant tract”. It called for the elimination of both Roman law and Canon Law, the foundation of the old order, and the confiscation of Church property because it accumulated wealth from both the state and individuals that would have been invested for the betterment of Italian citizenry. He did not reject the importance of religion in Italian life but demanded that it take a secondary role to the state and the economic development of the country. He wanted the Church to take the radical step of relinquishing its authority over the legal system and challenge the entrenched aristocracy to give up its privileges and control over the lives of most Italians.

In chapter 13, entitled "A Humble Request on behalf of the people of Rome to the most High Pontiff for the restoration of agriculture, artisanal crafts, and trade", Pilati makes an unconventional approach to the issue by speaking directly to the Pope urging him to reform the laws limiting the development of an economy which keep the people in poverty and subjugation. Voltaire was so moved by this chapter in Pilati's book that he published two essays in pamphlet form, addressing the Papacy and its power to change the lives of the Roman people by encouraging trade and manufacturing.

NUC cites copy of this edition at the Library of Congress and Yale; OCLC adds the Newberry, University of Chicago, Berkley and Syracuse. See Carpanetto and Ricuperati, Italy in the Age of Reason pp, 277-82 for a lengthy discussion of Pilati's work. See also Venturi, Italy and the Enlightenment pp. 238-240. For biographical information see Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, vol. 83. http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/carlantonio-pilati_(Dizionario-Biografico) (93). Item #93

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