Early Modern Italy

The work defines the cultural framework of the legislative foundations underlying the teaching of civil engineering and architecture disciplines in Universities and Institutes of Fine Arts of the Kingdom of Italy, from its proclamation in 1861 to the Third World War of Independence of the national "Risorgimento". This context provides the essential backdrop to outline the substantial premises of what will happen later, at the time of the Second Industrial Revolution, from 1866 onwards and in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, when the story of the re-foundation of the study of Architecture in Italy began, understood as a science then attaining parity with Civil Engineering.

Rabbi Moses Zacuto was the most prominent rabbi and kabbalist in Italy in the second half of the 17th century. His outstanding lexical enterprise in the field of Kabbalah of the holy names (kabbalat hashemot) was also a substantial contribution to the field of practical Kabbalah (kabbalah maʽasit). The ms Moscow, Russian State Library, Guenzburg 1448 contains the initial phase of this endeavor-a short work titled A Commentary on a Few Names, which is the focus of this article. We open with a discussion of the manuscript and the place of the Commentary in it. We then present the tract and discuss its contents, the kind of interest that Zacuto had in holy names, his information sources, his use of them, and the link between this preliminary treatise and his larger and more developed lexicon, Alphabet of the Names. Finally, we offer an annotated translation of the Commentary.

Rabbi Moses Zacuto was the most prominent rabbi and kabbalist in Italy in the second half of the 17th century. His outstanding lexical enterprise in the field of Kabbalah of the holy names (kabbalat hashemot) was also a substantial contribution to the field of practical Kabbalah (kabbalah maʽasit). The ms Moscow, Russian State Library, Guenzburg 1448 contains the initial phase of this endeavor-a short work titled A Commentary on a Few Names, which is the focus of this article. We open with a discussion of the manuscript and the place of the Commentary in it. We then present the tract and discuss its contents, the kind of interest that Zacuto had in holy names, his information sources, his use of them, and the link between this preliminary treatise and his larger and more developed lexicon, Alphabet of the Names. Finally, we offer an annotated translation of the Commentary.

Orietta Da Rold and I have been investigating European paper preserved in the Cairo Genizah. So here’s a thread on what watermarks can tell us about how paper moved from Europe to Egypt in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period. Pictures taken at Cambridge University Library.

The essay analyses the statistical data on cholera mortality in the the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, received in Naples when the epidemic wave of 1836-37 was drawing to a close. On the basis of these figures, the government certainly had a clear perception of the incidence of the disease in the various districts, and could use them for appropriate health policy assessments. A choice that was made at the time, and which remained unchanged, was to secrete the statistical data collected. The reasons behind this decision probably lay in the desire to conceal the very heavy death toll from public opinion at home and abroad, in an attempt to accredit the image of a wise, dynamic and effective government in containing the effects of the disease. There was perhaps also the fear that the internal disclosure of the real massacres that cholera had wrought, especially in certain provinces, could revive the never-quenched rumours of poisoning, with the related problems of public order, and the insidious political implications that cholera had provoked. For these reasons, the statistics collected remained buried in administrative offices and were never made public. Re-examined now, almost two centuries later, and interpreted also in the light of the distorting mechanisms that invalidated their compilation, the figures make it possible to ascertain the overall mortality in the Kingdom, the relationship between the mortality rates of the two epidemic waves and the mortality rates of the various provinces. Among other things, they allow us to state that, although it was, chronologically, the last of the Italian states to experience the aggression of cholera, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was also the one that reported, at the end of the epidemic, the heaviest death toll, both in absolute values and in relation to the population.

Viaggiare altrimenti: topografie mitiche e simmetrie psichiche dell'eroe omerico 11:30 Coffee break 12:00 Francesco Prontera Viaggi e rappresentazioni geografiche nella civiltà greca 12:30 Alessandro Cristofori Lavoratori in viaggio: le motivazioni professionali nella mobilità delle persone nel mondo romano

Toledo * A Neapolitan painter, a dying king and a cardinal. Luca Giordano and the frescoes of the sacristy of the Cathedral of Toledo Leticia de Frutos (Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte) Resumen: Con este artículo quisiera proponer una nueva interpretación contextualizada a la decoración al fresco de la sacristía de la catedral de Toledo por parte de Luca Giordano. Los últimos años del reinado de Carlos II, marcados por la fragilidad de su salud y el temor a una sucesión no resuelta, la existencia de facciones y sobre todo, los deseos del cardenal Portocarrero, don Luis Fernández de Portocarrero (1635-1709), de controlar en la medida de lo posible al voluntad del rey, nos permiten proponer una interpretación más contextualizada de un encargo a un pintor del rey llamado de Italia, Luca Giordano, que aún trabajaba en la decoración del Buen Retiro, en un espacio no dependiente de la Corona: los frescos de la sacristía de la catedral de Toledo. ¿A qué respondía esta decisión? ¿Por qué emplear al pintor de cámara del rey en un espacio ajeno al ceremonial regio? ¿A qué se debía este encargo en la catedral y, además en Toledo?

Analysing a struggle for neutrality amid a rapidly changing European scene, this book illustrates how the small state of Tuscany cunningly managed to preserve its sovereignty and independence during a dangerous diplomatic dispute with England.

Endangered Neutrality follows the actions of William Plowman (1660-?), who sparked the dispute, and those of two of the main characters of the story, Iacopo Giraldi (1663-1738), Tuscan ambassador to England, and Lambert Blackwell (d.1727), English envoy to Tuscany. Through these privileged points of view, the reader is plunged into the highest levels of European politics and diplomacy of the period.

This book offers a radically new approach to the study of Tuscan history, particularly in relation to the reign of Cosimo III de’ Medici. It underlines the weakness of the concept of the ‘small state’, showing how Tuscany managed openly to confront a much more powerful country such as England. Tuscany built a ‘system of neutrality’ which, leveraging the economic importance of the Mediterranean trade routes and of the port of Livorno, allowed the Grand Duchy to preserve its independence. Analysis of the case also offers a unique perspective on the functioning of the Tuscan and English diplomatic corps, assessing the impact of the Glorious Revolution on English diplomatic capabilities. Special attention is devoted to the importance of symbolism in diplomatic practice and to the role of trade and public opinion in resolving international disputes.

How should the woman behave and what are her duties? The guidelines for women presented in the selected sermons of Gilbert of Tournai

The article presents the opinions of the 13th century preacher Gilbert of Tournai about the duties of girls, wives and widows. Gilbert seeing the great lack of women’s education addres-sed his sermons to them and indicated which behaviors were correct and which they should change or avoid. His  sermons show how the women was seen, which was her position and role in the 13th century French society.

W jaki sposób powinna zachować się kobieta i jakie są jej obowiązki?
Wskazówki dla kobiet zawarte w wybranych kazaniach Gilberta z Tournai

W  artykule zostały przedstawione poglądy francuskiego kaznodziei z XIII wieku Gilberta z  Tournai na temat obowiązków dziewcząt, żon oraz wdów. Gilbert widząc wielkie braki w  kwestii edukacji kobiet zwracał się do nich w swoich kazaniach i wskazywał, jakie za-chowania były właściwe, a które należało zmienić albo unikać. Jego kazania przybliżają sposób postrzegania kobiety, jej miejsca i roli w    XIII wiecznym społeczeństwie francu

Desde el Grupo de Estudios Modernistas organizamos las jornadas internacionales de estudio "1625. Annus mirabilis: guerra global y diplomacia combativa de la Monarquía Hispánica", en la Facultad de Letras de Ciudad Real, el 25 y 26 de marzo de 2025. Inscripción para seguirlo por Teams: https://forms.gle/FgssDdX81RyC7KF4A

Among contemporary Western countries, Italy was, most likely, the first to introduce compulsory mediation in 2010. Furious opposition by lawyers (a matter of culture and fear of Alarming Drops in Revenues) and benign neglect by judges (a matter of culture; mediation, a "Child of a lesser God"). The main criticism was: mediation does not belong to the Italian legal tradition. History teaches the opposite; there is a constant presence of mediation in the Italian legal culture. But the institute has not been taught in Italian universities since the '30s of the 20 th century; therefore, it does not belong to the cultural background of many contemporary Italian jurists. It would be advisable for the teaching of mediation, and ADRs in general, to become an integral part of the curricula in Italian universities

This roundtable, composed of the team working on the Cultures of Philosophy project (ERC/UKRI) at the University of Exeter (UK), responds to that call by applying a case study-led perspective to women's transnational and multi-genre philosophical writing in seventeenth-century Europe, to produce a more inclusive, contextually defined approach to women's philosophical writing from the period. With five interventions, looking at France, Italy, England, and the Dutch Republic, and at the subdiscipline of natural philosophy, we will use genre as an initial way into this question. We address the need to look beyond 'legitimate' forms of philosophy, such as the treatise, dialogue and essay, or even 'legitimate' forms of literary philosophy, such as science fiction or epic-length poetry, to include marginalia, miscellany, paratext, dedications, historical fiction, hagiography, and incidental 'salon' verse. We examine texts by authors including Lucrezia Marinella, Mary Astell, Madeleine de Scudéry, Maria Margareta van Akerlaecken and Sarah Cowper to address questions of authorship, attribution, genre purity, and canonicity. Underpinning this roundtable is also a transnational and interdisciplinary focus. Not only will panelists touch on the importance of historical networks (e.g the Muiderkring; Elizabeth of Bohemia and her circle) and academies, especially the Accademia dei Ricovrati (Padua) and Accademia dell'

En este trabajo se estudiarán varias fuentes relacionadas con una guerra de plumas entre la Monarquía Hispánica, la República de Venecia y la Roma de Urbano VIII en la década de 1630. Para ello, se reflejarán varios estudios de caso en que estos tres poderes chocaron a través de duras palabras, así como se repasarán sus difíciles relaciones políticas con fuentes diplomáticas. Las polémicas no fueron solo unidireccionales, sino que desde Madrid, Venecia y Roma se lanzaron entre sí dardos que pudieron llegar a ser no solo literarios.  Del lado hispánico, la fuente principal será el Panegírico en epitome apologético de España (1632-1635), un códice manuscrito anónimo e inédito que responde sistemáticamente a las críticas hacia la reputación hispánica con la intención de legitimar la presencia habsbúrgica en Italia. Atacará principalmente a Traiano Boccalini y Giacomo Castellani, principal diana de la obra por su famosa disputa con Francisco de Quevedo y sus mordaces diatribas contra la Monarquía.
Asimismo, se revisará cómo desde la embajada filipina en Venecia del conde de la Roca se intentará agravar a partir de 1632 un conflicto fronterizo entre la Serenísima y Urbano VIII para que estuvieran enfrascados en ello y no se enemistaran abiertamente contra la Monarquía. A esto se unirá una “crisis propagandística” entre aquellas porque el papa borró por esas fechas una inscripción en los palacios vaticanos que exaltaba la ayuda veneciana al papa Alejandro III en su guerra con el emperador Federico Barbarroja allá por el siglo XII. No fue nada baladí, ya que era central en la publicística veneciana por un motivo: según sus plumas afines eso provocó que el pontífice les concediera la jurisdicción sobre el Adriático: un tema capital en las fuentes filo y antivenecianas. Al mismo tiempo, el Panegírico quiso echar más leña al fuego repitiendo constantemente las veces en que Venecia había sido enemiga de Roma y había estado excomulgada, en contraposición a los servicios hispánicos a los papas. La Serenísima será el principal, y obsesivo, objeto de sus ataques, pero no el único.
Debido a que el panegirista también responderá amenazadoramente a las invectivas romanas, se revisarán diversas polémicas que protagonizaron la Monarquía y el Papado desde principios del siglo XVII. El famoso cardenal e historiador pontificio Cesare Baronio estará en el foco de la disputa por sus Annales eclesiastici, concretamente su tomo 11, donde puso en entredicho la legitimidad hispánica sobre el reino de Sicilia y los privilegios eclesiásticos de sus monarcas. Fue un asunto que desató una agria confrontación dialéctica entre el prelado y Madrid/Valladolid. Tendrá su eco en el Panegírico, que también dará mucha importancia a otro asunto no menos importante entre la Monarquía y Roma: la cuestión de si el apóstol Santiago había predicado o no en Hispania.
Por supuesto, el códice también dará mucha relevancia a la no participación activa de Urbano VIII en la guerra europea a través de una argumentación no exenta de amenazas. Este hecho cobra especial interés debido a que el autor material de la obra estaba presente en la Urbe hacia 1632, en un momento de gran tensión con el papa por la célebre protesta en el consistorio romano del cardenal Gaspar de Borja, de cuya relación de la misma hablaremos brevemente. Tampoco podemos olvidar la naturaleza antipapal de algunas de las obras salidas de la imprenta clandestina del conde de la Roca.
Todas estas cuestiones serán buenos ejemplos de cómo los diversos actores de esta historia, el conde de la Roca, Castellani, Boccalini, Baronio, Urbano VIII y Borja, utilizaron la comunicación y sus formas expresadas en textos manuscritos e impresos para defender sus posiciones, exaltar a los poderes que representaban y confrontar con el adversario.

Il 13 marzo 2013, Jorge Mario Bergoglio veniva eletto Papa con il nome di Francesco, il primo Pontefice proveniente dalle Americhe e il primo gesuita a sedere sul trono di Pietro. Dodici anni dopo, il suo pontificato continua a essere segnato da un forte impulso riformatore, un’attenzione particolare agli ultimi e una costante apertura al dialogo.

This assignment covers the material contained in Chapters 1 and 2. The marks available are shown in brackets at the end of each question. 1009 cm -356 cm -742 cm + 94 cm. (3) This assignment covers the material contained in Chapters 3-5. The marks available are shown in brackets at the end of each question.

In the view of the Convento of San Domenico, the angels look towards the perspective joints. Miotte communicates that beyond the square with trees and fountains, there are gardens. In fact he superimposed a rectangular garden and a gardener on the hills. The two horizon lines set on the main figure of the Painting of San Domenico have been identified: the smaller side of the rectangle, if extended, are exactly the two hori
zon lines of the unified perspective view. Two vanishing points have emerged: the first, with a lower height and a shorter distance from the perspective picture, highlights the cloisters, while the second, with a higher height and further away from the perspective picture, highlights the church and the bell tower. In the study of perspective, the reason that directed the engraver in a precise direction was identified: to possibly
represent the famous Fair of San Domenico. The designer, in the wake of the masters of eighteenth-century cityscape, represented the magnificence of the Convent and the geometric rules of the architectural and urban fondation.

La única obra atribuida a Bernardo de Quirós, un manuscrito sobre remedios medicinales que se conserva en la Biblioteca del Monasterio del Escorial, confirma con poco margen de error que este médico de Felipe II que estuvo cautivo en Constantinopla durante casi cuatro años es el autor del Viaje de Turquía, diálogo cumbre del erasmismo español.

In 1972 Italo Calvino published the book Invisible Cities, encouraging a reflection on modern megalopolises starting from the reactivation of the imaginary arising from the memory of historical cities. In the paragraph Cities and Memory 3, the writer observed that "The city does not tell its past, it contains it like the lines of a hand, written in the corners of the streets, in the grilles of the windows, in the handrails of the stairs, in the antennas of the lightning rods, in the poles of the flags", underlining how the knowledge of a city passes through the discovery of material elements (space) and immaterial elements (history). More recently, Salvatore Settis (Se Venezia muore, 2014) postulated that "Cities die in three ways: when they are destroyed by a ruthless enemy (like Carthage, which was razed to the ground by Rome in 146 BC); when a foreign people settles there by force, driving out the natives and their gods (like Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztecs that the Spanish conquistadores destroyed in 1521 and then built Mexico City on its ruins); or, finally, when the inhabitants lose their memory of themselves, and without even realizing it become strangers to themselves, enemies of themselves. This was the case of Athens". Many cities, all over the world, have disappeared over the centuries, abandoned -but perhaps never forgotten -, destroyed by natural disasters or buried under new urban layers (Teotihuacán, Chichén Itzá, Copàn, Tulum, Angkor, Petra, Rome, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Brescia), re-emerging for different reasons. Fascinating historians, explorers, archaeologists, architects and artists, the 'lost cities' -both literally and metaphorically -have continued to exist in literary sources, descriptions, chronicles and sometimes in iconographic representations. Pompeii and Herculaneum are two of the most famous cities that disappeared due to natural disasters. Although according to The two-day conference, organized by Giulia Ceriani Sebregondi, Francesca Mattei and Danila Jacazzi, is promoted as part of the dissemination activities of the PRIN 2022 research project "VeLoCi -The Vesuvian Lost Cities before the 'Discovery'. Sources, Experience, Imagery in Early Modern Period" at the end of its duration and will be hosted at the University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", in Caserta. VeLoCi will organise and pay for accommodation and reimburse travel costs (economy class) for the speakers. At the end of the conference, the publication of some contributions in a peer-reviewed collective volume will be evaluated. Scientific and organisational secretariat by Giorgia Aureli and Giorgia Pietropaolo.

"De las violencias externas y demas o causas que pueden contribuir al aborto". Cuando el embarazo no frena o fomenta la agresión. Castilla, siglo XVIII Alberto CORADA ALONSO, Universidad de Valladolid: Discursos justificativos de los malos tratos a las mujeres. Una visión desde la justicia real ordinaria de finales del Antiguo Régimen Pilar CALVO CABALLERO, Universidad de Valladolid: Sensibilidades femeninas ante la violencia marital en las primeras décadas del siglo XIX en Castilla

In questo articolo mi propongo di esaminare come le comunità
religiose abbiano trovato spazio nel protestantesimo. Inizio con l’at-
teggiamento di Lutero e Calvino nei confronti del monachesimo, del
celibato e dei voti, per poi passare all’anabattismo, al pietismo e agli
sforzi per far rivivere le comunità con il movimento delle diaconesse
nel XIX secolo, fino alla riscoperta del cenobitismo protestante nel XX
secolo e alle nuove iniziative comunitarie. Mi limito al mondo di lingua
francese e tedesca. (In M. Bevilacqua (ed.), In dialogo con l’umano e con il divino. La vita consacrata nelle chiese e nelle religioni, Ancora, Milano 2025).

This article seeks to cross disciplinary boundaries while examining watermark paper in the ‘Cairo Genizah’ manuscript collections at the Cambridge University Library. Mainly dating between 1100 and 1897, this corpus provides a continuous cross-section of Egyptian-Jewish literary activity during the entire transition to watermark paper, including samples of paper stocks used in Cairo, Alexandria, Rosetta, Guadalajara, Híjar, Lisbon, Faro, Salonika, Constantinople, and Jerusalem, among other places. As we shall see, Genizah data about these stocks can supplement the study of paper in Egypt, Italy, Iberia, and the Ottoman Empire between 1350 and 1600. It also presents new opportunities for collaboration between European and Middle Eastern historians that will enhance the current understanding of papermaking and trade around the Mediterranean Sea.