Lo specchio della censura. Cultura e mentalità dell’ufficialità cattolica nel XIX secolo attraverso le fonti dell’Indice

Abstract

The article presents a methodological reflection on the documents relating to the censorship activity of the Congregation of the Index and the Roman Inquisition, preserved in the Archive of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (ACDF). Starting from the research conducted for his doctoral thesis - dedicated to the censorship of historiographical works between 1815 and 1870 -, the author argues that the sources of Roman censorship can be used as a "mirror" to study the culture and mentality of the Catholic officialdom in the 19th century. In its final part, the essay examines some difficulties and potentialities related to the application of such an approach.