The criticism of phrenology as a prelude to the foundation of criminal sociology : on the theoretical contribution of Napoleone Colajanni

In the 19th century, Napoleone Colajanni laid the foundations of his criminal sociology by delivering a detailed criticism of phrenology and its incongruous use by the Italian school of criminology, primarily represented by Cesare Lombroso, Enrico Ferri, and Raffaele Garofalo. Colajanni's work, which in this author’s opinion is balanced and not at all pedantic, rejects the idea that the phenomenon of crime can be explained by focusing on biological, racial, and anatomical characteristics of populations or individuals. In particular, the Sicilian sociologist rejects the idea of the presumed moral inferiority of Southern Italians, claimed by disciples of the Lombrosian School. Following the postulates of the nascent sociological paradigm, Colajanni emphasizes instead the primacy of the social and economic determinants of crime. However, the time was not ripe for his doctrinal approach. Due to the ostracism imposed by the School of Criminal Anthropology, then in a dominant position in the Italian scientific environment, his works remained marginal. Retrospectively, we can recognize that he was ahead of his time.