THE VARIATIONS OF AUTHOR IN THE MANUSCRIPTS OF THE OBSERVATIONS ON TORTURE BY PIETRO VERRI

The composition of Pietro Verri's Osservazioni sulla tortura is testified by two manuscripts stored at the Archivio Verri in Milan. The first one is an autograph manuscript (shelf mark 395.2.1), wick includes two redactions of the text; whilst the second one is an apograph manuscript (shelf mark 395.2.2). Verri wrote the first redaction on the autograph manuscript and then ordered the copy namely the apograph manuscript that stops after the halfway point of the autograph manuscript. Finally, Verri continued the writing on manuscript 395.2.1. In order to understand the chronological order of the variants, the apograph manuscript is fundamental, as it sets a date for the composition and it helps with the dating of the other variants. The essay focuses on the authorial interventions and on the ways emphasises the different aspects of his argument.