The book examines the theories of prison reform developed by Italian intellectuals, politicians and prison reformers before and after national unification in 1861. It calculates how effectively those ideas were realized and implemented in Italy, especially during the liberal era, 1861-1915. It also seeks to explain what Italy’s success or failure in prison reform reveals about the Italian state after unification. A discussion of the positive school of criminology presents the ideas of Cesare Lombroso and his followers, ideas which probably slowed the development of the penitentiary in Italy. The book evaluates the Giuseppe Zanardelli penal code of 1890 and gauges the effectiveness of Beltrani-Scalia’s reform. The study draws information from extensive archival and published materials, reports of visitors to the prisons and letters from inmates to the prison administration. Notes, bibliography, index