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720 Recensioni e schede

quemáticas. Se tratan de herramien- the state’s territorial borders as early
th
tas de trabajo esenciales para el as the 15 century.
lector, puesto que lo ayudan a refle- As a special issue in the series of
xionar y a sintetizar de forma inme- Storia Urbana, this volume (number
diata los diversos datos presentados, 147) offers a compilation of papers
principalmente, cuando el autor en- which underpin a common interest
tabla comparaciones y análisis de in the links between early public
referencias numéricas (pesos, medi- health authorities/institutions – from
das, costes de transporte, por ejemplo) the Magistratura di Sanità to the Depu -
y jurídicas. Asimismo, es de destacar tazione di Salute Pubblica – and the
que cada artículo dispone de una bi- marking and control of the territorial
bliografía donde se encuentran dis- borders of the various Italian states:
criminados los estudios, las fuentes from the Stato Pontificio and the
manuscritas e impresas. Repubblica di Genova to the Regno
di Napoli. While each article offers a
Alice Tavares solidly researched case study of a
specific city state, when taken together
these make possible a comparative
Daniele Palermo (a cura di), Epidemie, analysis of public health institutions,
Sanità e controllo dei confini (Storia within an Italian and European-wide
Urbana, 147), Franco Angeli, Milano, framework.
2016, pp. 170 In this tome each contribution
takes an approach which looks at
This volume is a collection of sanitary institutions in their spatial-
seven essays treating the history of territorial, as well as their specific
public health and the control of ter- economic, social and political dy-
ritorial borders in different Italian namics in a particular period. This
th
states from the 16 to the early 19 th spatial-historical frame squares each
centuries. The publication is sensitive essay within an interdisciplinary ap-
to contemporary events, coming at a proach, embracing theoretical and
time when strict border controls – methodological insights from different
biometric screening, medical exami- disciplines, thus enabling a multi-
nations, policing and containment – faceted historical reconstruction of
have been re-established to manage public health systems. At the same
the massive influxes of migrants time, one must observe that these
crossing the southern European bor- seven articles also articulate an al-
ders. The use of these public health ready strong tradition of Italian his-
instruments by the state to control tories on epidemics written by C.
its territorial borders is in many as- Cipolla, P. Preto and G. Restifo among
pects a repetition of the old quarantine others. The present compilation builds
measures which were usually adopted on the latter’s tradition of solid and
during epidemics for the containment, extensive research in the archives.
isolation, physical examination, and Against such a historiographical
disinfection of those crossing over backdrop, a number of important is-

Mediterranea - ricerche storiche - Anno XIV - Dicembre 2017 n.41
ISSN 1824-3010 (stampa) ISSN 1828-230X (online)