The course aims to provide students with an advanced understanding of the evolution of the praefectura urbi within the institutional framework of the Roman Principate, with particular emphasis on the development and consolidation of the criminal jurisdiction of the praefectus urbi from the Augustan age to the Severan period.
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
• explain the evolution of the powers exercised by the praefectus urbi in the fields of public security (custodia urbis) and criminal justice, placing them within the broader transformation of the institutions of the Principate;
• critically analyse the relationship between institutional organization, the administration of criminal justice, and the maintenance of public order in Roman legal experience;
• interpret the principal literary, epigraphic, and legal sources (including imperial rescripts, imperial constitutions, and texts from the Digest) by applying the methodological tools of Roman legal history;
• reconstruct, through the critical analysis of primary sources, the development of the urban prefect's criminal jurisdiction and assess its significance within the broader process of administrative and judicial centralization under the Principate;
• employ the technical vocabulary of Roman public law accurately and develop well-reasoned arguments on issues concerning the relationship between institutions, public security, and criminal repression.
The course also aims to foster students' independent critical judgment in the interpretation of primary sources and modern scholarship, equipping them with the methodological skills required for the historical and legal analysis of Roman public institutions and their evolution.
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
• explain the evolution of the powers exercised by the praefectus urbi in the fields of public security (custodia urbis) and criminal justice, placing them within the broader transformation of the institutions of the Principate;
• critically analyse the relationship between institutional organization, the administration of criminal justice, and the maintenance of public order in Roman legal experience;
• interpret the principal literary, epigraphic, and legal sources (including imperial rescripts, imperial constitutions, and texts from the Digest) by applying the methodological tools of Roman legal history;
• reconstruct, through the critical analysis of primary sources, the development of the urban prefect's criminal jurisdiction and assess its significance within the broader process of administrative and judicial centralization under the Principate;
• employ the technical vocabulary of Roman public law accurately and develop well-reasoned arguments on issues concerning the relationship between institutions, public security, and criminal repression.
The course also aims to foster students' independent critical judgment in the interpretation of primary sources and modern scholarship, equipping them with the methodological skills required for the historical and legal analysis of Roman public institutions and their evolution.
scheda docente
materiale didattico
Testi Adottati
S. Galeotti, Tra vigilanza e repressione. La giurisdizione criminale del prefetto dell'Urbe da Augusto a Settimio Severo (OPVSCVLA, IV), Macerata: EUM, 2026.Modalità Frequenza
Attendance is not mandatory. Regular participation is nonetheless strongly recommended, given the seminar-based format and the course's heavy reliance on direct reading of the sources. Non-attending students are required to agree with the instructor, during the semester, on the examination syllabus and any supplementary readings beyond the core monograph.Modalità Valutazione
Learning is assessed through a final oral examination, designed to verify: ● knowledge of the course's historical-institutional content; ● the ability to read and comment on the legal and literary sources covered in class; ● the ability to argue critically on the discipline's key problems, with reference to the main scholarly positions. Attending students may opt, as a partial alternative to the oral examination, to prepare a short written paper (10-15 pages) on a source or monographic topic agreed with the instructor, to be presented in seminar; the paper contributes to the final grade together with an oral examination on the remainder of the syllabus. For non-attending students, the oral examination covers the entire syllabus, without the option of substituting the written paper. Final grades are expressed on a 30-point scale (out of 30). 18–20: sufficient but minimal and non-in-depth knowledge of the subject. 21–25: fair / more than sufficient knowledge of the contents. 26–29: good / very good knowledge of the subject’s structures, with evidence of critical ability. 30–30 cum laude: excellent / outstanding knowledge of the subject, combined with excellent analytical, critical, and synthetic skills. Language of the oral exam: Italian. Students with disabilities or specific learning disorders (SLD), who intend to request the adaptation of the exam, must follow the instructions given in the following link: https://portalestudente.uniroma3.it/iscrizioni/dsa/