Abstract

Andrea Battistini’s recently published book (2019) offers a wealth of knowledge on eighteenth-century major figures and literary works as well as historical and cultural contexts. This article highlights the connections between the essays in the volume and the core ideas behind it. Battistini portrays the Italian eighteenth century as the century of innovative erudition, philosophical renewal, and Enlightment rationalism. The studies in the book also point out the changing aesthetic taste, the new conception of childhood, and the eagerness for a sociopolitical regeneration.