Italy and the European Enlightenment: Print culture and the dissemination of knowledge within and without the Italian peninsula

The purpose of this thesis is to explore some of the varied and various factors surrounding the influence of the Italian Illuminismo within the context of the greater European Enlightenment. I begin with the assertion that there is a paucity of scholarship on Italian print culture and texts during the long 18th century (1780-1820) and seek to understand the key factors for this lack of scholarly interest as well as the importance of bringing to light not only the key authors and publishers of the Italian Enlightenment, but also the marginalized voices of women translators and minor authors. Italy's Renaissance past is addressed both in terms of its influence on the print culture of the 18th century, and as a distraction from Italy's true accomplishments during the Enlightenment, setting up the dichotomy that, I believe, has influenced the lack of Italian presence in modern Eighteenth-Century Studies.