Final Report Summary - BOOKSREADERSSPIT (Books and Readers Between the Iberian and Italian Peninsulas Towards America (Sevolle and Florence)
The primary objective of my project has been to study a specific type of reader at the time of the Spanish 'Siglo de Oro' (i.e. The Golden-Age: 16th - 17th centuries): the elite of readers devoted to erudite subjects and fine writing like history, literature, poetry, etc. The aim of this project was to re-think the local in a global context in order to understand them better. For this purpose, Italy and its culture played a fundamental role in my project. The influence of Italian culture on the Spanish humanists of the 16th and 17th century is clearly reflected in their writing as well as in their libraries. At the same time, the Spanish colony in Italy and the Italian colony in Spain and the Americas acted as a dynamic network that still has to be studied from the cultural point of view. For these reasons, the readers of Italian literature, both in Spain and the Americas (where books were one of the main instruments in the process of westernisation), have been also a central part of my project. Secondly, but not less important, I intended to research the mechanisms (professional or not) through which books and texts circulated. With this second objective I intended to cover not only the circuits established by the major European booksellers / printers, who largely controlled the traffic of books to Spain and the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries, but also the communication between scholars and political agents.
The work carried out throughout the course of the project can be divided into four main categories:
- fieldwork, with the compilation of primary and secondary sources;
- development of my research skills;
- organisation of academic activities at the History and Civilisation Department of the EUI; and
- dissemination of the results of my work, through the presentation of papers and publications.
The fieldwork has been devoted, first of all, to the compilation of archival sources in Spain and Mexico. In both countries, I have worked at the notarial records archives of two cities (Mexico City and Seville) and the Inquisitorial records archives (in Mexico City and Madrid). The compilation of sources was completed in different Italian archives, as well as with the bibliographical material that I could collect during my research missions.
On the other hand, the Marie Curie fellowship has allowed me to develop my skills as researcher. In this regard, attending seminars and academic events organised at the EUI have been crucial to improving my knowledge of the most recent historiographical theories and methods so that I could then apply them to my work. The language courses offered by the EUI have also been helpful in advancing those language skills most important for my research (especially in English, French and Italian).
After my first months as a Marie Curie fellow at the EUI, I was given the opportunity to have a more active role on the History and Civilisation Department activities by collaborating in the organisation of the Fernand Braudel round tables, which took place in three sessions from November 2010 to March 2011. The round tables were structured in panels discussing broadly defined historiographical agendas, with the participation of senior and junior fellows from the department. The training acquired was crucial for the organisation, on February 2012, of the workshop 'Catholic communities and books during the Early Modern Period', which brought together scholars from different countries.
Finally, a significant part of my time during this period has been occupied by presenting my research at the EUI and in other institutions, where I could discuss my project and its results with scholars from different backgrounds. To summarise, the Marie Curie fellowship has allowed me to build up my profile as an international scholar.
All this contributed to enriching my project and is clearly reflected by publication record, which includes a book and several articles.
The research carried out during this period has tried to develop new perspectives on book history. In that sense, my work has contributed to re-thinking the mechanisms and networks created for the book market and book control, in the framework of a 'composite monarchy' like the Hispanic one. At the same time, in several of my papers and publications prepared during this period, I have contributed to drawing the profile of those readers interested in the humanities, and above all those interested in Italian literature.
Considering the nature of my project, the target groups for whom the research could be relevant are mainly scholars in the field of humanities (above all specialist on literature and cultural and social history).
