The Late Antiquity – an era to which historians devote great attention, at least since the end of the last century – has attracted and continues to attract many young scholars. The wealth of sources, sometimes unexplored, the almost complete absence of dogmatic burdens, a sense of discovery: all this certainly fascinated them.

The Academy, traditionally hospitable towards young people, wanted to put itself at their service with educational seminars, convinced that approaching Late Antiquity is not easy and requires particular knowledge and scientific prudence. Among other things, there is the risk of betraying the task proper to the legal historian: also because certain historiographical tendencies encourage an underestimation of the juridical.

The scientific freedom enjoyed by the Academy has made it possible to launch a seminar experience open to wide-ranging topics (e.g. philology, economics, eighteenth-century historiography, birth and evolution of the concept of Spätantike, pandectistic dogmatics, Christianity and biblical exegesis). always with the aim of enriching the legal analysis.

In the first months of 2013 it was decided to launch the Seminars of the Academy, cycles of reports on Late Antiquity, aimed at younger people (undergraduates, graduates, doctoral students and research doctors) with a proven interest in the topic.

This is the expected structure, which was then consolidated: in the annual meeting (edition) two sessions, one dedicated to Roman law themes – usually the sources – one dedicated to sciences that would once have been called auxiliary and which today we understand as fundamental.

The first organizers and coordinators, designated by the ASGC Board of Directors as “Heads of the Seminars”, were Mariagrazia Bianchini (member of the Council) and Paolo Mari, of the Italian Historical Institute of the Middle Ages, a precious interlocutor for his historical-philological skills and his knowledge of the various ancient disciplines.

The preparation, carried out with commitment and excellent understanding, made it possible to start the first edition of the Seminars in September 2013, in conjunction with the XXI International Conference of the Accademia Romanistica Costantiniana. Information on the aims of the initiative had been circulated for some time. A “hospitality” grant offered by the Academy included a dinner meeting between teachers and students and an overnight stay for twelve young scholars chosen on the basis of a ranking drawn up by the organizers according to pre-established criteria. The possibility of participating in the seminars by obtaining a certificate of attendance could be extended to a further six auditores.

The seminars met with good success among colleagues from the various universities (who were entrusted with the task of raising students’ awareness) and, above all, among the participants who appreciated both the quality of the relationships and the possibility of intervening in the discussion and the dialogue with teachers often known to them only by name.

Of the seminars, which have been reported in specialist magazines, video and audio recording is normally prepared, acquired by the Department of Law of Perugia.

Since the first edition of the second cycle (June 2018) the Seminars, which have obtained recognition and patronage from MIBACT (letter dated 14.12.2016), are named after Giuliano Crifò and the reports are published.

With the start of the second cycle, Paolo Mari was replaced by Carlo Lanza, member of the Board of Directors.

Edited by Mariagrazia Bianchini and Carlo Lanza

Below are the seminar programs from 2013 onwards.