«Hano stato vangeato insembli»: On Immigrants in Catania and Its Territory (14th-16th
Centuries)

This study focuses mainly on the primary sources from the episcopal court of Catania, here
considered in relation to other territories in 14th-16th centuries Sicily. The documentation
concerns immigrants to that city who were involved in annulments of betrothals or marriages,
or had an interest in proving their civic status so that they could get married. It reveals that
their origins varied considerably, from towns close to Catania to other places on the island and
mainland peninsula. It shows when and how foreigners connected with each other, and how
they integrated and were perceived. It highlights their determination to become part of the
community that they had arrived in. In addition, it sheds light on people who were often of
modest means, about whom source references tend to be limited.

Keywords: Immigrants, Episcopal court, Sicily, Catania, Gender history.

Parole chiave: Immigrati, Tribunale vescovile, Sicilia, Catania, Storia di genere.

Public Libraries in Enlightenment France

This article examines a little-known phenomenon, one that is inconspicuous yet massive
at the same time: the founding of «public» libraries in France before the Revolution, i.e.
libraries that were open at fixed times to an undifferentiated public, regardless of the legal
status of the collection, which could be owned by a municipality, a learned academy, a
university or an ecclesiastical institution. While these institutions were not necessarily
hotbeds of the Enlightenment, they are hypothesised to have played a part in the profound
cultural changes that underpinned it, by establishing a public reading space in the heart of
the city. The article looks at the time of their foundation, the way in which a «public service»
was developed and experienced on a day-to-day basis at a time when, if not the term, then
at least the idea of it was taking hold, and the identity of the public (traditionally the great
forgotten figure in the history of libraries) and the uses they made of the collections.

Keywords: History of libraries, Public libraries, 18th Century, Enlightenment, France.

Parole chiave: Storia delle biblioteche, Biblioteche pubbliche, Settecento, Illuminismo,
Francia.

Beyond Eusebio Ferrari… Italians and the Resistance in the North and Pas-de-Calais

This article aims to reconstruct the activities of Italian migrants, whether first- or secondgeneration,
who participated in forms of Resistance, both armed and civil, against the German
occupation in the French mining region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais. Trial dossiers, along with
requests for homologation to the French Army submitted after the war, demonstrate that, as
in other parts of France, communist organizations – initially the Organisation Secrète and
later the Francs-Tireurs et Partisans-Main d’Oeuvre Immigrée (Ftp-Moi) – were the only
groups to accept foreign fighters. The sources make it possible to trace the paths of Italian
fighters, identify their main areas of settlement, and analyse the motivations and methods of
their participation. Ultimately, the article seeks to outline the continuity, starting from the
1930s, of their integration into the socio-political context of the mining basin.

Keywords: Italian migration, French resistance, Transnational, Translocal.

Parole chiave: Migrazione italiana, Resistenza francese, Transnazionale, Translocale.

European Unitarian Left Socialism and Internationalism in Postwar Europe (1946-1951)

This essay offers an unprecedented historical look at the internationalist project of western
european left socialism from the first two years after World War II to 1951, during the period
of the reconstitution of the Socialist International. From the vantage point of the Italian
socialist leader Lelio Basso and the early years of the political and publishing experience of
the journal «Cahiers Internationaux», the different phases and drives present in that brief
political itinerary are reconstructed. The essay aims to contribute to a broadening of the
historical view of left socialism, which was scarcely considered or reduced to the subordinate
role of fellow traveller of the communist parties and the Ussr. Unitarian politics was not the
only distinguishing feature of their political culture and, however blurred, the boundaries of
political identities were preserved.

Keywords: Left socialism, Socialist internationalism, Cold War, Pacifist movement, «Cahiers
Internationaux».

Parole chiave: Socialismo di sinistra, Internazionalismo socialista, Guerra fredda, Movimento
pacifista, «Cahiers Internationaux».

Conflicts and Mediation in Reconstruction: Cgil and the «Third Social Time» of Centrism
between Mobilisation, Expansive Policies, and Reforms (1949-1950)

In the light of new archival acquisitions, this essay traces the relations between Cgil (the
Italian General Confederation of Labour) led by Giuseppe Di Vittorio and the centrist
governments headed by Alcide De Gasperi in the post-war reconstruction phase, focusing
on the Labour Plan presented by the trade union in October 1949. This passage saw the
implementation of two different but converging strategies towards reform: centrism on the
one hand, intent on seeking the point of reconciliation between the containment of public
order and reforms (agrarian reform and the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno − the Southern Italy
Fund); and Cgil on the other, committed to mobilisation but also to playing a responsible
national role in the reconstruction process. A conflictual competition, it was also an
encounter, destined to carry weight beyond the logic of the Cold War.

Keywords: Italian general confederation of labour, Giuseppe Di Vittorio, Alcide De Gasperi,
Reconstruction and reforms, Italian Communist Party.

Parole chiave: Confederazione generale italiana del lavoro, Giuseppe Di Vittorio, Alcide De
Gasperi, Ricostruzione e riforme, Partito comunista italiano.

Migration and Integration in Germany: An Analysis of Lines of Research between Historiography
and Social Sciences

Migration and integration are crucial themes in contemporary history, particularly in post-
1945 Federal Germany. The migratory phenomenon has profoundly impacted German
society, leading to significant socio-economic, cultural, and political transformations.
Recent historiography in Germany has extensively explored the complex relationship
between migration and integration, providing a critical and comprehensive analysis
of migratory dynamics and integration efforts. This review examines historiographical
research on migration and integration in Germany, emphasizing major lines of inquiry,
interpretative paradigms, and the evolution of research perspectives over time. It outlines
the contours of migration in Germany, both before and after 1945. The review also explores
the connection between migration, integration, and the labour market, highlighting new
research directions such as migrant entrepreneurship.

Keywords: Migration, Integration, Post-1945 Germany, Migration policies, Labour market.

Parole chiave: Migrazione, Integrazione, Germania post 1945, Politiche migratorie, Mercato
del lavoro.

Discipline of the Sacred in Contemporary Society

The article reflects on the book by Giovanni Filoramo, Sui sentieri del sacro. Processi di
sacralizzazione nella società contemporanea, Milano, FrancoAngeli, 2022.

Keywords: Religion, Sacred, Politics and religions, Secular religions.

Parole chiave: Religioni, Sacro, Politica e religioni, Religioni secolari.