Alla ricerca del piccolo commerciante (e alla riscoperta di una deplorevole pratica)

The essay, based on the contributions that have appeared in the more than one hundred years old Rivista del diritto commerciale, traces the development of the insolvency disciplines dedicated to small-scale phenomena, starting with “piccoli fallimenti”, moving on to “procedimento sommario”, and, finally, to “liquidazione controllata” and of the corresponding prerequisites (“piccoli commercianti”, “piccoli dissesti”, “piccolo imprenditore”, “impresa minore”), highlighting continuity and discontinuity of a complex and substantially misunderstood cultural history. The last part is devoted to the rediscovery of a judicial practice, originally strongly criticized, but now able to regain new life.