‘E chiamavate barbare le altre genti!’ Spectres of Ancient Violence in Alessandro Verri’s Notti romane (1792–1804)

The Notti romane al sepolcro degli Scipioni by Alessandro Verri (1792–1804) stages a series of dialogues with eminent Roman figures – such as Cicero, Brutus, and Caesar – who return from the dead to converse with the narrator in the newly discovered tomb of the Scipio family in Rome. However, the second part of the work introduces a notable departure from tradition: the dead leave their tombs and wander through the living city, guided by the narrator. This narrative shift subverts the conventional structure of the classical dialogue with the dead. This article argues that such a reversal of narrative norms is a defining feature of Notti romane. The analysis focuses on how the dialogues explores the victim/perpetrator dichotomy, with special attention to its representation of violence – particularly forms of violence that we now call genocidal or gender-based violence – and erasure of historical memory (memoricide).