Law Miscellaneous

In addition to the volumes of legal content, the donation also included Legal Miscellanea: a collection of 2,709 documents — mostly pamphlets, extracts, articles and reviews — published between the mid-19th century and the 1930s.

Although not unique in its kind (other similar collections exist), the Miscellanea stands out for the methodological rigor of its composition, its archival care and its ability to fully reflect Sraffa's cultural and intellectual approach. The collection consists of 148 bound volumes, ordered according to a classification criterion conceived by Sraffa himself.

Most of the volumes are organized by topic, from marriage to the history of commercial law, but there is no shortage of monographic nuclei dedicated to individual authors, such as Gustavo Bonelli (1853-1926), Gino Segrè (1864-1942), Vittorio Scialoja (1853-1933), Pietro Bonfante (1864-1932), Alfredo Rocco (1875-1935) and others.

Of particular interest is the collection’s international focus, consisting of a wide range of contributions coming not only from Italy, but also and above all from other European legal contexts. The Miscellanea, in fact, includes studies belonging to the German, French and English traditions, as well as others, testifying to Sraffa's constant openness to being exposed to international legal thought and his interest in comparative law. This orientation reflects a conscious drive towards an authentic legal cosmopolitanism.

Numerous pamphlets, presumably sent as gifts by the authors themselves, bear autograph dedications. They document the dense network of correspondence cultivated by Angelo Sraffa with scholars active in the European legal scene. These signatures, often marginal but significant, increase the collection’s documentary value. They also provide a concrete image of the breadth and vitality of the intellectual exchanges that he entertained within the European legal community.

The Legal Miscellanea, therefore, fully reflect Sraffa's cultural activity based on the international circulation of ideas, and oriented towards an encounter between different legal traditions and a construction of comparative knowledge.