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722 Recensioni e schede

idence – on the results achieved in system” one starts observing “anom-
Rome as early as the 1570s by such alies and imperfections” (p.34), which
non-permanent public health meas- cannot but redirect one’s attention
ures, give a sense of urgency to the onto the more nuanced social realities
critical re-thinking of the above men- and incongruities – and I may add,
tioned historical assumptions. forms of resistance – found in these
One other theme of discussion is state sanitary systems. This opens
the embeddedness of public health up a largely unexplored territory
institutions within existing power which still requires in-depth archival
structures. The ways and means by research and theoretical elaboration.
which sanitary institutions were used Moreover, other authors in this
as instruments of power in the Italian publication illustrate how public
city states is found running in most health institutions, used to protect
of these contributions. In his essay the territorial boundaries of the state
dealing with the public health system in turn created social borders which
in the Republic of Genoa, Danilo led to the definition, containment,
Pedemonte shows how sanitary in- marginalisation and stigmatization
stitutions – more so the “permanent” of the vulnerable poor, the destitute,
ones – facilitated the consolidation the vagabonds, and minorities such
of state spatial and social control, as the Jews. It is agreed that the
mainly by «coming to mediate between sanitary procedures instituted in the
the central state and the local and various states, were also techniques
peripheral realities». This study makes of control which defined as the (neg-
evident how the Genoese Magistratura ative) “other” those on the other side
di Sanità operated to prevent the in- of – or trying to cross – “the border”.
filtration and spread of epidemics Matteo Di Figlia, in the last essay of
but also to control people’s movement this volume, explains how the con-
and commercial traffic on the borders solidation of the ‘natural sea-coast
of the state. The author narrows frontiers’ of the Kingdom of Two Si-
down his analysis on the sanitary cilies in 1816-17 – mainly through
regulations which were enacted and sanitary quarantine procedures – de-
implemented within the city, providing fined all those who found themselves
examples of the biopolitical techniques crossing the border line as “alien”
operated on – with the intention to and “foreigners”; to be treated as
manage and discipline – the urban “the enemy.”
population. Here, one cannot but ob- Moreover, while acknowledging
serve that the interpretations of both the role played by these sanitary in-
Danilo Pedemonte and Renato Sansa stitutions/measures to protect the
immediately evoke the Foucaultian population from disease and to con-
view of the public health institutions solidate the social order, various con-
as disciplinary dispositives. Nonethe- tributors here make evident that
less, through evidence drawn from these frequently led to unintended –
contemporary records, Pedemonte indeed conflicting – consequences for
emphasises that in this “disciplinary the state. Raffaella Salvemini in her

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