Page 179 - Mediterranea-ricerche storiche, n. 48, aprile 2020flip

To contain and control: work organization and poor government in the... 179

average, better than that of peasants at the same time . The idea of
21
ruling the bodies by food is deeply analysed in Michel Foucault’s
studies and a similar approach was widely adopted all over Europe
after the seventeenth century. A cost sheet, with details of the fabrics,
clothes and linen used at the institute, was enclosed with the main
budget and was based on yearly consumption .
22

Table 4. Nourishment annual budget of the whole
Real Albergo dei Poveri of Palermo (1811)
Item Sicilian onze
Wheat 360
Wood for heating 219.28
Wheat flour 174.3
Fresh fish 223.17
Wine 270.20
Vinegar 52.12
Beans 78.8
Lentils 35.1
Chickpeas 6.2
Charcoal 74.24
Oil 160
Meat 608.20
Cheese 112.7
Broad beans 13.14
Codfish 15.2
Salted olives 2.18
Salad 52
Pumpkins 20
Pasta 786.29
Total for nourishment 3192.12
Source: Asp, Rsi, f. 5272 and R. Rossi, Poor government and work organisation in the
Real Albergo dei poveri of Palermo cit.

The government of space had a fundamental role in discipline bodies
follow Bentham’s Panopticon and Michel Foucault interpretation .
23
However, beyond the disciplinary aspects, space management is an

21 P. Malanima, Cibo e povertà nell'Italia del Sette e Ottocento, «Rises, Ricerche di
Storia Economica e Sociale», voll. 1-2, 2015, pp. 15-39.
22 Asp, Rsi, f. 5272.
23 M. Foucault, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, Vintage Books, New
York, 1995, pp. 20 e sgg.

Mediterranea - ricerche storiche - Anno XVII - Aprile 2020
ISSN 1824-3010 (stampa) ISSN 1828-230X (online)