Open
Knowledge
Dialogues

Description

Fondazione Università Ca’ Foscari and Edizioni Ca’ Foscari present Open Knowledge Dialogues, a forum dedicated to the discussion of the publisher’s scholarly publications. The initiative brings together authors, series editors, and scholars to explore research findings and foster dialogue within international academic networks.

The event will focus on the volume The Trial Against Atheism in Naples (1688-1697). Chronology and Documentation by Leen Spruit, published by Edizioni Ca’ Foscari and available in open access. The book reconstructs a major inquisitorial trial held in Naples between 1688 and 1697 against a group of intellectuals accused of atomism and atheism, offering extensive documentation that sheds light on the cultural and political context of the time.

Talk: «The Trial Against Atheism in Naples (1688-1697)»

In the late seventeenth century, Naples became the setting for a complex intellectual confrontation in which the charge of ‘atomism’ played a dual role: on the one hand, as a polemical label and tool of delegitimization; on the other, as a rallying cry for groups open to new scientific and philosophical ideas. The talk examines the sources of the trial, showing how the spread of innovative ideas was intertwined with a broader cultural renewal.

The lecture also highlights how the actions of the Inquisition not only aimed to suppress positions deemed heterodox, but also helped establish a precedent through practices of censorship, imprisonment, and abjuration—one that would influence the future of intellectual inquiry in the Kingdom of Naples.

Series presentation

The event will also introduce the series Knowledge Hegemonies in the Early Modern World, devoted to the study of knowledge cultures in the early modern period (ca. 1450–1750) and the political, religious, and social dynamics that shaped scientific and intellectual practices.

Registration is required at this link.