HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL ITALIAN STATES

The course belongs to the core educational activities of the Master degree in History from the Middle Ages to Present and in the History of Arts and Conservation of Artistic Heritage and provides an in-depth analysis of the historical vicissitudes of one the Italian states between the Late Middle Ages and the modern era.

Focusing on a single topic, which changes every year, the course allows students to understand how Italian history developed throughout the early modern period.

Good knowledge of European History, with a particular focus on the early modern period.

Fernand Braudel has defined the period between 1550 and 1650 as the "century of the Genoese". During this period, the Genoese were not only the creditors of the immense debts of the Spanish empire, but were also present throughout its territory. The merchants and bankers of Genoa during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries therefore provide an excellent case study to examine a well-defined social group that was integrated around the globe. The course aims to explain the paradigms of global history by shedding light on the different Genoese presences in early global empires, without neglecting the internal social and political development of Genoa itself up until the end of the Ancien régime.

Students will give a 20-minute presentation on a text about the history of Genoa in the early modern period chosen from a list prepared by the instructor. The presentation should be accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation, use a bibliography that the student has found independently, and analyze a source. The exam will be conducted orally and will focus on the topics covered during the course, both those addressed by the instructor and those presented by other students.

Lectures and seminarial activity

English

oral