VOLTERRA, EDOARDO

VOLTERRA, EDOARDO (1904–1984), Italian jurist. Born in Rome, he was the son of Vito *Volterra, the Italian mathematician. He became professor of Roman law successively at the universities of Cagliari, Parma, Pisa, and Bologna. Volterra was removed from his teaching posts in 1938 under the Fascist antisemitic laws. He was decorated for his bravery in fighting the Germans during the last year of the war. He returned in 1945 to Bologna where he was rector until 1947. He became professor of law at the University of Rome in 1951.

Volterra's numerous publications include Collatio Legum Mosaicorum et Romanarum (1930), La Conception du mariage d'après les juristes romains (1940), and Instituzioni di Diritto Romano (1961). He also wrote many articles on family law which were notable for their clarity and wide range of knowledge.

[Giorgio Romano]

He was appointed constitutional justice of Italy (1971–1980); in 1971 the University of Rome published six volumes in his honor, Studi in onore di Edoardo Volterra; his books were very popular among scholars. Republished in 1980 was his Istituzioni di Dirito Romano as was in 1983 his Diritto Romano e Diritti Orientali (originally published a few months before the racial legislation). In 1991 six volumes of his Scritti giuridici were published. The British Academy's Research Projects hosted an important internet site called Project Volterra Database in honor of his memory. In 2005 the University of Rome commemorated the 100^th anniversary of his birth.

[Alfredo Mordechai Rabello (2^nd ed.)]

bibliography:

Novissimo Digesto Italiano, 20 (1975), 1048.