… But we must speak of him again, of the jurist, the politician, the citizen, the man: speak of him properly. This fleeting gesture is not intended to be more than a first, modest act of reparation. P.Z.

So concluded the journalist who, in the 25 July 1945 edition of Vita Libera, signed an article in memory of Enrico Catellani, who died on 7 January of the same year.
It is by recalling this provocation that this exhibition attempts to appreciate the intellectual legacy that this illustrious Paduan jurist has left to the scientific community.

Enrico Catellani was a member of numerous scientific and academic societies and emerged as a prolific author of numerous writings on international, maritime and aviation law, as well as being one of the first jurists to deal with colonial law. He also devoted himself to the law of war, especially when, during World War I, he was a consultant to the Supreme Command and for which he was named Senator of the Kingdom in 1920 for his distinguished service.
He had an open and innovative mind for the time and wrote a wide range of articles in various fields, not only legal.

Although he converted to Christianity at a young age, he suffered personally and professionally from the racial laws due to his Jewish origins.

The analysis of archival and bibliographic documents was essential to put together the jurist’s bibliographical profile and for reconstructing his valuable private library, acquired by the University of Padova after World War II thanks to funding from the Allied Military Government. Organisation of the library, which began in 2010 based on library materials which had subsequently gone missing, is ongoing.

The interoperability of MOVIO, the platform making the exhibition possible, and Phaidra, the repository of the University of Padova, is making it possible to exhibit Enrico Catellani’s works which have been digitised in the hope that they can be useful for future studies.

 

Andrea Ambrosi - Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Padova