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Contemporary History and Its Publics in Italy, 1640-1740


Type

Thesis

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Authors

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the writing of contemporary history in Italy and the emergence of a reading public during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. In accordance with humanist conventions, sixteenth- and seventeenth-century historians were often retired statesmen, who addressed their histories to an aristocratic audience and did not intend them for an immediate and wide circulation. During the seventeenth century, however, the periodical press enabled an unprecedented dissemination of news in Europe. Together, print and manuscript media informed emerging audiences about current and recent affairs, contributing to a sense of ‘information overload’. Encouraged by the growing public created by these periodicals, some Italian writers broke with the humanist tradition by publishing their books of contemporary history. These histories were specifically addressed to the general public and contributed to a rising political debate. By examining their work, this study aims to shed light on the dissemination of political information in Italy and Europe during the period between 1640 and 1740, and the public’s understanding of both their recent past and present time. During this one-hundred-year period, the Italian peninsula was one of Europe’s principal theatres of war. The War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) is of particular significance as, by ending 150 years of Spanish hegemony over Italy, it became a source of uncertainty about the future of the Italian States. This uncertainty, together with the complexity of Italian politics, generated a demand for political information about Italy throughout Europe.

The dissertation is divided into five chapters, arranged in broadly chronological order. The first two consider the dissemination of the news in seventeenth-century Italy and, through an analysis of the work of Vittorio Siri (1608-1685), the influence of periodicals on historical writing. Chapter III explores the work of Francesco Maria Ottieri (1665-1742), addressing themes such as the authority of historians of contemporary Europe and their publics. Chapter IV considers the question of sources for the writing of contemporary history in a European context, by connecting the work of Ottieri to the ideas and work of François-Marie Arouet, ‘Voltaire’ (1694-1778), in France, and Henry St John (1678-1751), 1st Viscount Bolingbroke in England. Finally, Chapter V investigates Scipione Maffei’s (1675-1755) combined use of knowledge concerning ancient and contemporary history, and his work’s political import and influence into the nineteenth century. Cumulatively, these five chapters seek to elucidate the impact of the public on Italian historical writing between 1640 and 1740, adding a new perspective to the histories of communication, scholarship, and historiography.

Description

Date

2022-08-03

Advisors

Calaresu, Melissa

Keywords

early Enlightenment, early modern Europe, early modern historiography, early modern Italy, early modern newspapers, eighteenth century, European history, history of books, history of communication, history of historiography, history of news, history of scholarship, intellectual history, Italian history, Italian studies, political history, political information, public sphere, reading public, seventeenth century, social history

Qualification

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Awarding Institution

University of Cambridge

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