Il ritorno dei Vespri : storia e politica nell’opera de Filadelfo Mugnos

L’aconteixement històric de les Vespres Sicilianes, que constituí una revolta contra la tutela del rei francès Carles I d’Anjou, ha estat objecte de la consideració de molts historiadors italians. Tenint presents les lectures que d’aquest succés en feren, entre d’altres, els historiadors decimonònics, l’objectiu principal del present article és estudiar l’obra de l’historiador siscentista Filadelfo Mugnos, que en la seva I raguagli historici del Vespro Siciliano (Palerm, 1645) presentà la seva visió dels fets. Òbviament, Mugnos partí de la visió d’autors pretèrits com Tommaso Fazello o Francesco Maurolico i escriví la seva obra en un context històric i polític en el qual calia reinterpretar i reescriure allò que s’havia esdevingut quatre segles abans.The great event of the Sicilian Vespers, which was a revolt against the tutelage of the French king Charles of Anjou, has been a topic of reflection for many Italian historians. After taking into account the interpretations made by nineteenthcentury historians, the purpose of this article is to study the work of the historian Filadelfo Mugnos, who in his I raguagli historici del Vespro Siciliano (Palerm, 1645) gave his vision of the facts. Mugnos obviously drew on past historians such as Tommaso Fazello and Francesco Maurolico, and wrote his work in a historical and political context in which he felt necessary to reinterpret and rewrite what had taken place four centuries earlier

How is the Debt Managed? Learning from Fiscal Stabilizations

This paper provides evidence on the behavior of public debt managers during fiscal stabilizations. Such episodes provide valuable information on the way debt instruments are chosen because they allow to overcome the problem that policymakers' expectations of interest rates are generally not observable. We find that governments increase the share of fixed-rate long-term debt denominated in the domestic currency the higher is the conditional volatility of short-term interest rates, the lower are long-term interest rates, and the stronger is the fall in long-term rates that follows the announcement of the stabilization program. By contrast, conventional measures of the relative cost of issuing long-term debt, such as the long-short interest-rate spread, are not significant. This evidence suggests that debt managers tend to prefer long to short maturity debt because they are concerned about the risk of refinancing at higher than expected interest rates. However, when long-term rates are high relative to their expectations, they issue short maturity debt to minimize borrowing costs.This paper provides evidence on the behavior of public debt managers during fiscal stabilizations. Such episodes provide valuable information on the way debt instruments are chosen because they allow to overcome the problem that policymakers' expectations of interest rates are generally not observable. We find that governments increase the share of fixed-rate long-term debt denominated in the domestic currency the higher is the conditional volatility of short-term interest rates, the lower are long-term interest rates, and the stronger is the fall in long-term rates that follows the announcement of the stabilization program. By contrast, conventional measures of the relative cost of issuing long-term debt, such as the long-short interest-rate spread, are not significant. This evidence suggests that debt managers tend to prefer long to short maturity debt because they are concerned about the risk of refinancing at higher than expected interest rates. However, when long-term rates are high relative to their expectations, they issue short maturity debt to minimize borrowing costs.Non-Refereed Working Papers / of national relevance onl

Managing the Public Debt in Fiscal Stabilizations: the Evidence

This paper provides evidence on the behavior of public debt managers during fiscal stabilizations in OECD countries over the last two decades. We find that debt maturity tends to lengthen the more credible is the program, the lower is the long-term interest rate and the higher is the volatility of short-term interest rates. We show that this debt issuing strategy is consistent with optimal debt management if information bewteen the government and private investors is asymmetric, as it is usually the case at the outset of a stabilization attempt when private investors may lack full confidence in the announced budget cuts.This paper provides evidence on the behavior of public debt managers during fiscal stabilizations in OECD countries over the last two decades. We find that debt maturity tends to lengthen the more credible is the program, the lower is the long-term interest rate and the higher is the volatility of short-term interest rates. We show that this debt issuing strategy is consistent with optimal debt management if information bewteen the government and private investors is asymmetric, as it is usually the case at the outset of a stabilization attempt when private investors may lack full confidence in the announced budget cuts.Non-Refereed Working Papers / of national relevance onl

¿Revuelta de Masaniello o revolución de Nápoles? Una reinterpretación

Between 7 and 16 July 1647 a popular revolt, led by a young fishmonger, Masaniello, shook the city of Naples. The killing of Masaniello, however, did not lead to the end of the riots. On the contrary, the revolt involved the entire kingdom of Naples, radicalized in an anti-Spanish sense and resulted in the proclamation of the Republic and the call of a French prince, the Duke of Guisa. On these events, and especially on the fracture that permanently opposed people and nobles, historiography has long debated. It is possible, however, today, also on the basis of new archival documents, to propose a different interpretation of the events, which integrates the two moments and allows an updated reading of the revolt/revolution in Naples.Entre el 7 y el 16 de julio de 1647 una revuelta popular, dirigida por un joven pescadero, Masaniello, sacudió la ciudad de Nápoles. El asesinato de Masaniello, sin embargo, no condujo al fin de los disturbios. Por el contrario, la revuelta involucró a todo el reino de Nápoles, se radicalizó en un sentido antiespañol y culminó en la proclamación de la República y la llamada de un príncipe francés, el duque de Guisa. Sobre estos eventos, y especialmente sobre la fractura que se oponía permanentemente al pueblo y a los nobles, la historiografía ha debatido durante mucho tiempo. Sin embargo, hoy en día es posible, también sobre la base de nuevos documentos de archivo, proponer una interpretación diferente de los acontecimientos, que integra los dos momentos y permite una lectura actualizada de la revuelta/revolución de Nápoles

Rethinking the origins of the Sicilian Mafia. A new interpretation

This article seeks to ground the study of the origins of the mafia in the context of nineteenth-century Italian politics. The approach taken is to link changes in discourse with the processes by which criminal figures were identified, controlled, classified, represented and (eventually) made part of folklore. Such an approach involves linking the literary imagination of the nineteenth century with political context and with the theory and practice of the criminal justice system as they combined to define crime in public discourse.Cet article vise à mettre au jour les origines de la mafia dans le contexte politique italien du XIXe siècle. L’approche retenue consiste à lier les changements dans le discours avec les processus par lesquels les criminels étaient identifiés, contrôlés, catégorisés et (finalement) construit comme une composante du folklore. Une telle approche implique de lier l’imagination littéraire du XIXe siècle avec le contexte politique ainsi que la théorie et la pratique du système judiciaire, qui ensemble définissent le crime dans le discours public

La paura estrema in politica: sui concetti di terrore e terrorismo

Una lunga tradizione intellettuale occidentale ha creato e diffuso per il mondo l’idea di un uso rigeneratore della violenza politica utilizzata al fine del mutamento sociale e della liberazione dall’oppressione. In questo quadro essa ha difeso e teorizzato l’azione “terroristica” come uno strumento violento di liberazione sociale, l’unico spesso nelle mani dei poveri, delle minoranze oppresse e dei senza mezzi contro lo strapotere delle potenze, dei dittatori, delle maggioranze. Per far conoscere le ragioni di una lotta, per esistere politicamente, per propagandare le proprie idee e, in ultimo, per colpire un avversario incomparabilmente più forte, occorre compiere un gesto violento, inatteso, improvviso. Ciò che potremmo chiamare il terrorismo rivoluzionario, insomma è diretto prioritariamente, più che a terrorizzare il nemico, a “risvegliare” le masse dormienti, a spingere alla lotta il proprio popolo mediante un atto esemplare capace di rappresentare sul piano simbolico la vittoria possibile

Repensar las «seis revoluciones contemporáneas» del siglo XVII

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Ancora la mafia e la Spagna Realtà e finzione nella costruzione sociale del male

The Author focuses on literary construction of Mafia's Myth; from the Spanish origin in Cervantes to the "setta" of Beati Paoli and the Invention of Tradition of Cosa Nostra in 20th Century. The article demonstrates that reality and fiction are part of a unique strategy of social construction of Consensus and Legitimacy.L'articolo si concentra sulla costruzione narrativa del fenomeno mafioso a partire dai primi anni del'Unità d'Italia e sul nesso tra tradizione spagnola delle sette e sue traduzioni italiane. L'autore ripercorre, con esempi inediti, il nesso tra rappresentazione dei miti mafiosi - tra questi quello della setta dei Beati Paoli - e il modificarsi del fenomeno mafioso e delle sue manifestazioni, fino al mito moderno dell'onore in "Cosa Nostra" e alle forme di consenso e legittimazione ad esso connesse.