Italian Entry: Italian Enlightenment

The Enlightenment was a cultural and philosophical movement that took place in Europe during the 18th century. This movement was characterized by the loss of faith in God and the exaltation of scientific theories. This was the period during which Newton and Voltaire formulated their theories. The Enlightenment began in England and in France but it rapidly spread to other European countries. In Italy, the Enlightenment spread moderately compared to England and France. In Italy, the roots of the Enlightenment were the several scientific discoveries that contradicted what the Catholic Church had sustained throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The people started to describe the Church as a carrier of ignorance and superstition. In Italy, the Enlightenment (Illuminismo) spread also as a literary idea that was anti-God and pro-science. The literary style associated the Enlightenment with was the complete opposite of Romanticism in which God was praised and the logic was rejected because not able to explain many phenomena. The major exponents of Italian Enlightenment were Carlo Goldoni, Pietro Verri and Cesare Beccaria. Goldoni was a play-writer; Verri created the magazine Caffè, while Beccaria wrote books on the fundamental freedoms and collaborated to run the Caffè.

Further information on the Enlightenment