On Thursday 19 February 2026 at 4:00 p.m., the Cagliari State Archives will host the presentation of the book “Prisons between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Doctrine, legislation and application”.

The book, the second volume following the one presented on 29 January, is the outcome of research carried out as part of the PRIN programme (Research Projects of Significant National Interest), funded by the Ministry of Universities and Research, entitled “Punish, reform, reintegrate. Penal institutions through criminal science, prison law, prison administration, work, health and hygiene treatment and architecture: three case studies on the ‘island of punishment’ during the Kingdom of Italy (the San Bartolomeo penal colony, the Castiadas penal colony and Buoncammino prison)”, led by the University of Cagliari.

The research highlighted the historical value of prison archives as an essential source for reconstructing the institutional, social and human history connected with the prison system. The project drew on the consultation and study of prison records held in the archives. Between 2015 and 2021, the Cagliari State Archives received these records thanks to a productive collaboration with the Regional Directorate of the Prison Administration through its Archives Supervisory Commission.

Following the institutional greetings, the speakers, moderated by Michelina Masia of the University of Cagliari, will be Gilberto Ganassi, Deputy Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cagliari, Maria Cristina Ornano, President of the Supervisory Court of Cagliari, and Marco Porcu, Director of Office I of the Regional Directorate of the Prison Administration — Sardinia. The editors of the volume will also attend.