Napoli, l’impero e la circolazione dei saperi. Il Cinquecento

The second capital of a great empire in terms of size and strategic-political functions, Naples in the sixteenth century and again in the early decades of the following century was a crossroads of extraordinary importance for the variety and richness of its performative languages and commercial, religious and cultural practices. Political and diplomatic agents, merchants, military personnel, clergy, pilgrims and travellers animated its spaces, promoting the hybridisation of practices and linguistic communication and contributing to the construction and circulation of knowledge about the world. The essays collected here focus on the actors and processes of accumulation and dissemination of knowledge in the medical-naturalistic, geographical and military fields in Naples at that time. Despite the diversity of approaches, the volume offers an integrated reading of this universe of knowledge, reconstructing the paths of knowledge transfer between the Americas and Europe and reflecting on the impact of these exchanges on local cultures and policies, both in the field of natural disaster management and in that of military knowledge.