Naples was a powerful centre of the European Enlightenment during the entire eighteenth century. Some of the most important treatises of the Neapolitan Age
abstracts of the Reason enjoyed considerable success in Spain between 1780 and 1840. This was the case of the G. Filangieri’s Scienza della Legislazione (1780-1791). This book, as well as the Genovesi’s Lezioni di commercio and Galiani’s Dialogues sur le commerce des blés, contained detailed reflections on Spain and on its economic, cultural, religious and political background. At the same time, Filangieri suggested numerous and sharp proposals for the reform of the Spanish Monarchy. This article goes on to provide an in-depth analysis of the images of Spain contained in the Scienza della Legislazione.
