Emerico Amari's political commitment mirrored in his parliamentary activity

Abstract

Emerico Amari (Palermo 1810-1870) can rightly be considered a protagonist of the culture and of the political events of the Italian Risorgimento, although only in the past few decades has he attracted the attention of the historians involved in recovering and studying his numerous inedited papers and in going more deeply into his political and economic thought and his interest in the Constitution and in the institutions. His scientific production noteworthy for the number of works and for the profundity of the contents, the value which is still partly to be brought to light, ranges from moral philosophy to epistemology, from economics to criminal law. But at the same time, the Palermitan scholar, convinced that intellectuals should assume civil and political roles in society, devoted himself to the realization of a liberal and federalist programme. His numerous speeches as deputy-President of the Lower house, his editorial activity in particular the articles he published in Croce di Savoia and his participation in the first Parliament of the new Italian State confirm that the Sicilian jurist made a remarkable contribution to the constitutional doctrine of the nineteenth century.