It is celebrated on November 30 of each year—the day in 1786 that the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, under the reign of Pietro Leopoldo (later Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II), became the first civil state in the world to do away with torture and capital punishment.
Cesare Beccaria was one of the greatest Italian Enlightenment writers, who was noted for his masterpiece Of Crimes and Punishments (1764), which was later translated into 22 languages.
As a consequence in Italy the first pre-unitarian state to abolish the death penalty was the Grand Duchy of Tuscany as of November 30, 1786, under the reign of Pietro Leopoldo, later Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II.
Since 2007, the United Nations General Assembly has repeatedly called for a universal moratorium with a view toward total abolition of capital punishment.
On this day, participating cities illuminate a symbolic monument, such as the Atomium in Brussels, the Colosseum in Rome and the Plaza de Santa Ana in Madrid.