Abstract

In this paper I will examine Giovanni Tarello’s contribution to a possible sociology of property. I will begin with his reconstruction of the constitutional discipline of property, contained in the Introductory Lectures he gave at the University of Genoa, and then summarize his evaluations of famous Constitutional Court rulings on expropriation. These remarks will allow a broader reflection on the epistemological status of the disciplines that observe the legal phenomenon. In the final paragraph, I will attempt to link his analysis of the Italian Constitutional Court’s decisions to other times and places in which judges have (re)introduced “meta-legalµ conceptions of property rights.