Francesco Mario Pagano

The origins and the development of the Neapolitan school of philosophical and political thought of the 18th century; the life and works of Francesco Longano, Francesco Antonio Grimaldi, Francesco Mario Pagano and the reception of this works in the European culture, including translations and books reviews.

This thesis aims to describe the transformations that occurred in fishing between the middle of the 18th century and the Unification of Italy (1861), focusing on the two Apulian coasts: the Adriatic (Province of Bari) and the Ionian (Taranto).
The first chapter is a brief history of Mediterranean fishing: it describes the development of this activity through the centuries, from artisanal techniques and local organization to the introduction of pair trawlers, which occurred for the first time at the beginning of 18th century in Catalunia (Spain).
The second chapter focuses on legislation in the Kingdom of Naples: from the traditional locally-based regulations to national initiatives (the first was in 1784) designed to counteract the sail-trawlers, which also fished far off shore, thus avoiding traditional controls; it outlines fishing legislation in the Kingdom of Naples (which became Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1815) until the time of its collapse and unification with other Italian states in 1860.
The third chapter is about the fishermen of Terra di Bari (=Land of Bari), and in particular from Barletta, Trani and Molfetta. The first part of this chapter focuses on the very first occurrences of sail-trawling (pair trawlers) as detailed in provincial records (1770s and 1780s). The introduction of this method was directly connected to a decrease in trade, which had led to unemployment among sailors (and boats). Sail trawling became their favoured alternative activity because it did not require specific know-how. These first trawlermen were therefore lacking in the knowledge of fish and sustainable fishing that traditional fishermen had learnt through their close relationship with the sea over several centuries. The practice set off an intense debate between scientists and policy makers, leading to the introduction of laws and other State intervention in fishing up to 1860. The distance of the Province from the capital and the extreme poverty of the sailor community, which was described in many letters by local administrators to central government, led the latter to exempt these fishermen from complying with national laws on trawling. From the Restoration (1815) onwards, these trawlers (in particular those from Trani and Molfetta) started fishing annually in the Tyrrhenian Sea (in the winter), causing conflicts with local fishing communities. In addition, sailors from Barletta fished in the Ionian Sea when they brought salt to the Ionian coast of Calabria: as a result there were numerous problems with Taranto, a city where fishing had always been the main activity for most of the population.
The last chapter focuses entirely on fishing in Taranto. This city was wholly built on an island "between two seas", the Mar Piccolo (=Little Sea) and the Mar Grande (=Big Sea). Fishing had been the main economic activity since at least the 10th century: it had brought a large income (through taxes on catches) to the Prince of Taranto until the Principality collapsed (1463), and then to the Royal Crown of Naples, which inherited the Prince's assets. This chapter describes the economic organization of these seas, the connected supervision system and the transformation brought about in the last fifteen years of the 18th and the first fifteen years of the 19th century thanks to the efforts of two "enlightened" royal administrators: Tommaso Ciura and Ignazio Maria Marrese. Their work, along with the experiments of Giuseppe Capecelatro (the "enlightened" archbishop of Taranto and a natural scientist known all over Europe), led to the incredible increase in mussel farming in the Mar Piccolo. This activity rapidly became the most important in the city, replacing fishing in the local (and royal) economy.

Scrivo questo editoriale il 9 dicembre 2013, esattamente un mese prima che cada il decennale della morte di Norberto Bobbio. Intendiamoci: lo avrei ricordato comunque perché, per poco che si abbia vivo il senso della gratitudine, non è dato dimenticare chi ci educò al gusto del pensare chiaro e diritto. Sennonché scorrendo le pagine che allestiscono questo fascicolo, più veloce e come sorridendo la memoria è tornata al suo magistero. Forse non proprio per il meridionalismo (che, in effetti, fu tema rimasto sugli orli della sua sensibilità) ma certo per i concetti e per gli orientamenti generali del pensiero riconosciamo subito dietro di lui, magari dentro di lui, riassunti e ricomposti in lui, subito avvertiamo quell'aerea, quell'impalpabile cosa che si chiama «aria di famiglia» con i personaggi richiamati in questo numero dell'«Archivio». E fra tali personaggi, due in particolare gli si strinsero intorno come a definire un circolo chiuso che Bobbio non oltrepassò mai: il primo è Gaetano Salvemini, il secondo è Ernesto Rossi, entrambi convinti -tra le altre cose -che le riforme, anche le più generose, anche le meglio congegnate, sarebbero comunque precipitate in un naufragio disperato se non si fossero svolte gemelle con un cambiamento della scuola.