LEGIO FULMINATA. – This was the XII Roman legion, which after taking part in the siege of Jerusalem under Vespasian was stationed at Melitene in Armenia. It was summoned by Marcus Aurelius to take part in the war against the Germans and the Sarmatians. During that campaign, and precisely in the summer of AD 174, the L. f. was the protagonist of an exceptional event. The Roman army was reduced to a critical situation by continuous drought, when suddenly a providential downpour changed the fortunes of the battle. The episode, certainly authentic, is recounted by writers who were almost contemporary and independent of one another, both Christian and pagan, and was also recorded on the third band of the column erected in AD 180 in honour of Marcus Aurelius. Christian writers who recorded it included Apollinaris, bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia, a few years after the event (Eusebius, *Hist. Eccl.* III, 8).
LEGIO FULMINATA. – Scene of the miraculous rain. Detail of the Column of Marcus Aurelius (176–93) – Rome.
LEGIO FULMINATA.
(photo: Anderson)
LEGIO FULMINATA. – Scene of the miraculous rain. Detail of the Column of
(photo: Anderson)
(photo: Anderson)
LEGIO FULMINATA. – Scene of the miraculous rain
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**LEGGE SOCIALE (l. s.).** – The body of legal norms that regulate labour relations, with particular regard to the protection of workers. It deals with such matters as hygiene, physical and moral safety, job placement, minimum age for entering into employment contracts, maximum working hours, rest and holiday periods, prevention, and assistance, etc. This legislation is not inspired solely by particular motives for protecting the most needy categories, but also by general motives of collective national interest—political, ethical, economic, sanitary, and demographic.
A notable, if indirect, contribution to l. s. has been made by the teaching of the popes. Already in the encyclical *Rerum novarum* (1891), Leo XIII affirmed that “the class of the rich, strong in itself, has less need of public defence; the wretched masses, on the other hand, which lack their own support, have the greatest need to find it in the patronage of the State. And so it is that the State must, above all, turn its care and providence to the workers, who are among the weak and needy” (no. 20). Previously, various timid or fragmentary norms had been issued here and there (notable among them those promoted by Bismarck and inspired by what he called “practical Christianity”: cf. his parliamentary speeches of 2 Apr. 1881, 9 Jan. 1882, 15 Mar. 1884); but “it is certain,” Pius XI states in *Quadragesimo anno* (no. 12), “that only when the papal word resounded from the Chair of Peter throughout the world did the records of the peoples, made more conscious of their duty, turn their thoughts and attention to promoting a richer social policy”; and from “a continuous indefatigable effort there arose a new branch of legal discipline quite unknown in past ages, which vigorously defends the sacred rights of workers deriving from their dignity as men and as Christians.” Even if the existing provisions “do not everywhere and in every respect accord with the norms of Leo XIII, it cannot be denied that in many points an echo of the encyclical *Rerum novarum* is heard, to which, therefore, a very notable part is to be attributed for the improved condition of workers” (*Quadragesimo anno*, no. 12, in *AAS*, 23 [1931], pp. 185–86).
The norms in this field have an imperative nature, i.e., they cannot be derogated from by the will of private individuals and, at least as a rule, not even by the will of professional associations in collective agreements, except to the workers’ advantage. In case of violation, criminal, administrative, as well as civil or patrimonial sanctions are envisaged. In doctrinal construction of the legal system, some authors include l. s. within administrative law, others within labour law.
In Italy, the organs responsible for overseeing its application are the labour inspectors, some central, others provincial or interprovincial; the officials in charge of them may visit workshops, factories, and building sites; issue warnings; levy fines, etc. The labour offices (provincial and regional organs of the Ministry of Labour, like the inspectors) also provide for job placement, assistance to emigrants, and the conciliation of labour disputes.
The most recent constitutional charters of many States have elevated these norms to the constitutional level, as has also the Italian Charter (1947), which sets forth some general principles (arts. 35–38) and provides for a technical body for legislative development, the National Council for the Economy and Labour, composed of experts and representatives of productive sectors (art. 99).
The norms of l. s. are moreover increasingly extending into the international sphere, both through specific agreements and treaties between determined States and through conventions elaborated by the International Labour Organization, open to subsequent adhesion by all interested States, and through possible activity by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.