Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to propose some reflections on Grotius’ De iure belli ac pacis, on the occasion of the recent publication of the first full translation of the work in Italian, edited by Carlo Galli and Antonio Del Vecchio. The main features of this edition, accompanied by introductions and critical notes, are examined. Subsequently, some aspects of Grotius’ biography are presented, concerning the circumstances of the writing of De iure belli ac pacis and its diffusion during the negotiations for the Peace of Westphalia. The publishing events of the first Eighteenthcentury partial translation of the work are also presented and discussed in the essay, as a significant moment of the author’s «fortune» in Italy.