Rostovtzeff and Italy: A Long History

Abstract

In recent years, we have all become much more aware of Rostovtzeff’s profound roots in early 20th-century European culture, of his specifically Russian traits as a scholar and, therefore, of what his mature historiography owes to the intertwining of these two components. Italy plays a major role in this context. To get an idea of the importance of Rostovtzeff for De Sanctis’ school, we only need to glance at some of Momigliano’s early writings, in which the name of the Russian historian frequently appears.