The seventeenth-century Milan court. From Pietro Verri to Alessandro Manzoni, the criminological point of view

Abstract

The article offers some thoughts on the theme of justice from “Storia della colonna infame” by A. Manzoni, which tells the death sentence of Mora and Piazza, accused of being “untori” in a seventeenth-century Milan struggling with a plague. Manzoni’s narrative is of particular interest in the eyes of a criminologist for several reasons. First, the central theme of the narrative: Manzoni highlights how the judges of the seventeenth century in Milan (like those of all time, and some studies show it) aren’t indipendent, they are in fact spokesmans of the culture of the moment  (or power groups that represent them). Following, the setting must be recorded of great forensic interest: it speaks of a process occurred in the age of Iron (XVII century), characterized by  violence, disintegration of social bonds and anomic crisis of justice. Finally, from the standpoint of “criminological narratology”, we can’t forget the narrative style of Manzoni, criminologist ahead of its time, denouncing the injustice mixing the likelihood language with the emotions language. The topics covered by Manzoni coincide with the center of Osservazioni sulla tortura” by Verri, fundamental work that marks the beginning of criminology. Verri demonstrates in a practical way that without the torture trial of “untori” would not have had the ending we know. But what are the mechanisms that lead to justice produce injustice? According to the author  religion is not necessary to feed such “campaign of persecution” by the courts and the social group, just a general condition of social anomie and political vacuum that brings justice to perform tasks not his. The case of the Column Infamous is illustrative because during an historical period of great chaos and destructiveness  justice was entrusted to none other than the additional task of administering public health.