Abstract:

In the early modern centuries, several European states issued pioneering regulations to protect what they thought of as “heritage” – that is, antiquities, monuments, and paintings considered important for their country’s splendour. These early protocols have had a substantial impact on the development of legal and aesthetic approaches to heritage protection in recent times.

In this volume, legislation is explored from both a legal and art-historical perspective in order to understand how cultural, political, and social factors influenced the introduction of the first systems for safeguarding “precious artefacts” in early modern Europe. By comparing concepts and practices developed in different states, the narrative tracks down the origins of legislation for heritage protection, shedding light on the gradual development of new definitions of “antiquity”, “artwork”, and “monument” in the laws issued between the 1400s and 1700s.

In the second part, the transcriptions of these regulations are presented together with their English translations: the original texts were in early modern Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Portuguese, Danish, Dutch, German, and Latin. Such a systematic apparatus offers a robust research instrument to scholars and academics worldwide, also constituting a fascinating read for broader audiences interested in the history of heritage protection.

Texts translated by Amedeo Ceresa Genet and Chiara Mannoni

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 837857 – “LawLove. The origins of the legal protection of heritage. Legislation on the safeguard of monuments and artworks issued in 15th- to 18th-century Europe”.

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Translators’ Notes
- The Old Italian States
- The Other States and Counties in Europe
- Editorial Addendum

Part One: Art and Law. The Origins of Concepts and Procedures

3. A Comparative History of Concepts and Procedures
- Defining “Heritage” in Early-Modern Law
- Fortune of a Paradigm

Part Two: Laws and Edicts in Early-modern European States

4. The Papal States

5. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany

6. The Kingdom of Denmark

7. The Kingdom of Sweden

8. The Kingdom of Portugal

9. The Province of Drenthe

10. The Duchy of Milan

11. The Kingdom of Spain

12. The Kingdom of Naples

13. The Republic of Venice

14. The Margraviate of Ansbach-Bayreuth

15. The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel

16. The Prussian States

Appendix: Chronology of Laws and Provisions

Bibliography