Forty years after Ricerca dei libertini (1983) Problems and perspectives

The article analyses libertinism studies in Italy, starting from Spini’s Ricerca dei libertini (1983). In recent decades, the definition of libertinism has broadened chronologically. It concerns not only religious or philosophical spheres, as in Spini’s book, but also political, literary and artistic fields. Recent research is focused on European heterodox cultures in the seventeenth century and their relationship to philosophy, medicine, and scientific revolution.