In 1906 the Nobel Prize awarded to Giosuè Carducci aroused an unprecedented wave of enthusiasm in the town of Bologna. Driven by that enthusiasm Giovanni Pascoli and other intellectuals collegues of his succeeded in creating the new Class of Moral Sciences, which was officially established in 1907.
Between 1910 and 1930 the most eminent humanists of Bologna University as well as many of the most famous jurists joined this new Class promoting interdisciplinary collaborations. Among the founders of the class of Moral Sciences, there was Giuseppe Brini, a well known expert of Roman Law, who, together with other historians of Law such as Emilio Costa e Silvio Perozzi, started to interact with other members expert of Latin literature and Roman civilization.
In the Fascist period, following the resignation of President Giuseppe Brini in protest against the regime, the Academy increased its vocation for studies on Roman civilization also through the publications of Goffredo Coppola and Giuseppe Schiassi. In addition to Coppola and Schiassi, even the Roman Law expert Silvio Perozzi and the linguist Alfredo Trombetti were admitted into the Academy of Italy (as it was renamed during the fascism). The great reputation the Academy enjoyed in the prewar period was to gain a great visibility during the regime which loved to celebrate the cult of the Roman world. After the wartime disasters, the Academy resumed its activities promoting studies on previously neglected disciplines, such as history, philosophy, pedagogy, statistics, economics and the various branches of law.
Nowadays, the Class of Moral Sciences boasts various areas of excellence; among which it is worth mentioning the "Lectura Dantis" (Dante’s readings) organized by the renowned Dantist , the late Professor and Academy member Emilio Pasquini. This series of readings, initiated in 2009 with the aim to be completed in 2021, in coincidence with the 700th anniversary of Dante’s death, and is considered one of the best ever in the international arena. The other activities of the Class of Moral Sciences range from bioethics, medieval history, various branches of law and others.
