Firenze, 2 febbraio 1934. Perché il diritto romano

Various recent questions concerning the status of current Romanistic discipline, and, in more specific terms, the suitability of teaching Roman law in the context of legal studies, lead the author to focus on the crisis of ‘lukewarmness’ that La Pira attributed to the historiographic temperament of his time. La Pira used to blame the arid focus on details, which deprived a wider vision of the overall system. The author investigates the cultural background of La Pira’s perspective and analyses the relationship with the different point of view of Betti and the importance of the cultural and social and scientific meaning of teaching of Roman law.