Law Summer School

Law steps out of the classroom and into the thermal park

The Law Summer School is a legal summer program that brings Telese Terme, in the Province of Benevento, to life every September in the heart of inland Campania. Promoted by the Municipality of Telese Terme in collaboration with the University of Sannio, the event gathers magistrates, lawyers, university professors, law students, and citizens for three days to discuss the most pressing issues in the Italian justice system. It is not a conference closed to experts, but a public forum designed so that even those without a legal background can follow along and ask questions.

An event born in 2024

The inaugural edition was held from September 19 to 21, 2024, at the Grand Hotel in Telese Terme under the title The New Frontiers of Law: three days dedicated to organized crime, artificial intelligence applied to criminal trials, environmental sustainability, and neuroscience. The proceedings were opened by the Chief Prosecutor of Naples, Nicola Gratteri, who was invited to speak on new forms of organized crime. The initiative, organized by the Sannio university with the Municipality and the Training School of the Penal Chamber of Benevento, was created with the stated goal of becoming a permanent fixture on the Telese calendar.

The 2025 edition: «Between Law and Justice»

The second edition, held from September 11 to 13, 2025, chose the theme Between Law and Justice: The Challenge of Legality. The topics addressed were among the most debated in the Italian public sphere: judicial errors, the prison emergency, the use of new technologies in trials, and the separation of judicial careers, which was the subject of a referendum. The discussion table featured a rotation of magistrates, criminal lawyers, professors, and national institutional representatives, including Undersecretary of Justice Andrea Delmastro Delle Vedove and Deputy Minister Francesco Paolo Sisto.

The Literary Café of the Thermal Park

Since 2025, the school has been hosted at the Literary Café of the Thermal Park, a restored building returned to the community, chosen specifically because it represents a symbolic site for the people of Telese. The setting among the avenues and vegetation of the thermal park gives the Law Summer School a character distinct from typical legal conferences: discussions on prison and reforms take place in a relaxed context that invites dialogue rather than confrontation.

Organizers and target audience

• Municipality of Telese Terme — among the promoters are Mayor Giovanni Caporaso and Councilor Filomena Di Mezza, a lawyer.
• University of Sannio — Law Degree Program, with President Vincenzo Verdicchio and Professor Antonella Marandola, Chair of Criminal Procedural Law.
• Sannio Bar Association — organizers include criminal lawyer Vincenzo Regardi; the first edition also involved the Training School of the Penal Chamber of Benevento.

The target audience primarily consists of law students, but the sessions are also designed for the local community and citizens interested in issues of legality.

Telese Terme, the Sannio region, and its waters

Telese Terme owes its name and its vocation to the sulfurous waters of the thermal park, around which the modern city has developed. The municipality is located in the Telesina Valley, in the Province of Benevento, and serves as a convenient base for those wishing to discover the Sannio region: Lake Telese, the valley's villages, and the wine-growing hills of Aglianico and Falanghina. Hosting a legal summer school is, for the municipal administration, a way to complement the city's thermal image with a national-level cultural offering.

Towards the next edition

As of the writing of this entry, no official communication regarding the dates for the 2026 edition has been released. The first two editions both took place in the second half of September; it is reasonable to expect a similar schedule, but information should be verified through the official channels of the Municipality of Telese Terme and the University of Sannio.