Marxism and slavery in 20th century Italian Historical Research on Antiquity

This paper explores the most important aspects of the debate over slavery among italian historians of the XXth century in the light of the influence of Marx. Particular attention is given to the renewed interest in questions of economic history, after a quiet period between the two worlds wars, which manifests itself in Italy from the 60's. The special part played by Moses Finley's Ancient Economy (it. transl. Rome-Bari 1974) in stimulating renewed interest in the subject is underlined.