Church and Censorship in Eighteenth-Century Italy - 9780367887612

Taylor & Francis

Church and Censorship in Eighteenth-Century ItalyGoverning Reading in the Age of Enlightenment\nAuthor(s): Patrizia Delpiano\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd, United Kingdom\nImprint: Routledge\nISBN-13: 9780367887612, 978-0367887612\nSynopsis\nDealing with the issue of ecclesiastical censorship and control over reading and readers, this study challenges the traditional view that during the eighteenth century the Catholic Church in Italy underwent an inexorable decline. It reconstructs the strategies used by the ecclesiastical leadership to regulate the press and culture during a century characterized by important changes, from the spread of the Enlightenment to the creation of a state censorship apparatus. Based on the archival records of the Roman Inquisition and the Congregation of the Index of Forbidden Books preserved in the Vatican, it provides a comprehensive analysis of the Catholic Churchs endeavour to keep literature and reading in check by means of c.