Sara Parini, PhD

I am Full Professor of Medieval and Modern Legal History, with research interests spanning contractual practices, the law of transaction, pact-making, and the role of women in legal and economic relations across medieval and early modern Europe. My work explores how agreements, settlements, and obligations were negotiated, formalized, and contested, and how gender shaped contractual agency within different social contexts.

I have been Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford and at the University of Deusto in Bilbao, experiences that strengthened my comparative perspective on private law and legal culture. I teach Medieval and Modern Legal History, courses on the history of contracts and conflict settlement, and a specialized course on the History of Modern Codifications, focusing on the transformation of legal systems between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

My publications include monographs, edited volumes, and numerous articles on obligations, transactional practices, local legal orders, codification processes, and women’s participation in systems of negotiation and pact-making. I also take part in national and international research networks and interdisciplinary projects on legal pluralism and the social foundations of private law.

Invited Lecture “La storia sul banco degli imputati”

On Tuesday, 2 December 2025, at 6 p.m., as part of a series of discussions organised at the University of Turin by Professors Valerio Gigliotti and Mario Riberi, Prof. Sara Veronica Parini will give a lecture entitled “La storia sul banco degli imputati” (The History at the dock).

Donne ‘contro’. Itinerari tra storia e diritto

MILHIS is pleased to announce that the University of Milan will host the seminar “Donne ‘contro’. Itinerari tra storia e diritto” (Women ‘Versus’. Pathways through History and Law), organised by Prof. Sara Parini and Prof. Stefania Salvi. The seminar will consist of four meetings from 3 November to 13 November, where speakers will take an interdisciplinary approach to addressing the issue of the legal status of women through the centuries.