La reductio ad unitatem del danno non patrimoniale in Italia: una mission impossible…?

This article analyses the recent developments of one of the most complex institutes in Italy: that of non-pecuniary damage. On 11th November 2008, four historic sentences of the Italian “Corte di Cassazione” (at United Sections) fixed a new and singular interpretation of Article 2059 of the Italian Civil Code (about “non-patrimonial damage”), by establishing principles that had to be applied by all Italian Courts. However, at a distance of almost 15 years from those important rulings, there are many doctrinal and jurisprudential uncertainties on the matter. The work uses a methodology that combines the analysis of the normative data with that of case law, without neglecting the opinion of the most accredited doctrine on the subject. The conclusion reached is that the objective of ensuring the elimination of excessive divergences in the interpretation and application of the legal figure in question has not yet been achieved at all.