Donatella Strangio

Le Terme di Viterbo: dal termalismo sociale ai progetti di rilancio nel segno del turismo del benessere

This article analyzes an aspect of the history of the Italian spa sector, which has received less attention so far in the literature: the rise and the decline of so-called social thermalism. Since the interwar years, and to a greater extent during the second half of the twentieth century, the Italian State created a new model of development in the spa industry. This model was outside the market logic and based on thermal bath therapies paid by State social insurances for a large number of workers and pensioners. Subsequently, the cost of these spa treatments became unsustainable. Therefore, at the end of the twentieth century, the State contribution for workers’ spa therapies was dramatically reduced and the spa industry was forced to tackle the emergence of a severe economic crisis. After providing a general overview, the present essay studies the development and the decline of Italian social thermalism through a particular case study, the thermal baths of Viterbo. The history of this spa is analyzed using unpublished archival sources, but it is also framed in the present –day context, on the basis of recent surveys conducted by local institutions, with the aim of finding a way to revitalize the tourism flow through a new combination of hydrotherapy and wellness.

Urban security, approvvigionamento alimentare, carestia e scarsità delle risorse in chiave storico economica

Urban security, approvvigionamento alimentare, carestia e scarsita delle risorse in chiave storico-economica La gamma delle regioni nel mondo colpite ed inclini alla carestia si e ridotto da secoli: tuttavia, l’impatto della fame endemica non e diminuito e agli inizi del ventunesimo secolo sembra essere di fronte ad una nuova minaccia: la crisi di sussistenza globale. Questo saggio si propone di aiutare i lettori, partendo dalle riflessioni dei classici, a comprendere processi apparentemente non correlati: approvvigionamento alimentare, carenza di cibo, carestia, fame, poverta, scarsita delle risorse. Quando si discute di cibo, della carestia e della fame, poniamo l’accento sulla catena alimentare, dalla produzione, ai trasferimenti e al consumo. Questo include la disponibilita di cibo (approvvigionamento alimentare), il diritto al cibo ( food security ) nonche il controllo sul cibo (sovranita alimentare). Il successo ottenuto dall’Europa nel liberarsi dalle carestie ha contribuito alla produzione di calorie a buon mercato. La fame, l’insicurezza alimentare e la disuguaglianza degli alimenti non sono stati pero sconfitti del tutto. La comunicazione piu veloce ed efficiente delle reti di trasporto ha ridotto l’impatto del ‘classico rapporto’ carestie locali e regionali. Tuttavia, nuovi squilibri nell’economia globale di mercato stanno aumentando la minaccia di una crisi alimentare globale. Urban security, food provisioning, famine and scarcity of resources in the perspective of economic history The range of regions in the world affected by famine or prone to it has fallen for centuries. However, the impact of endemic hunger has not declined and early twenty-first century seems to be facing a new threat: global crises of subsistence. This paper aims to help readers, starting from the ideas of the classics, to understand seemingly unrelated processes: food supply, food shortages, famine, hunger, poverty, scarcity of resources. When discussing food, famine and hunger, we put the emphasis on the food chain, from production to transfer and consumption. This includes the availability of food (food supply), the right to food (food security) and the control over food (food sovereignty). The success in freeing Europe from famine has contributed to the production of cheap calories. Hunger, the food insecurity and the inequality of food, however, were not entirely defeated. Faster communication and more efficient transport networks has reduced the impact of the ‘classic relationship’ between local and regional food shortages. However, new imbalances in the global market are increasing the threat of a global food crisis.

International Aid to Somalia

We have to declare the cooperation developed in bilateral agreements a failure. It has not served at all, it does not help those who need us. Let’s give the money we spend in the world to the EEC. There we will have the political power to direct the resources, but also to agree on their global use together with our European partners.

Analysis of the Economic System of Somalia

Italian colonialism could not see beyond bananas, practically it didn’t develop anything beyond bananas. It was a kind of colonialism that did not even look after its own interests: In other words it was short-sighted. Then came independence and things did not change very much, because the old leaders were simply the puppets controlled by old colonial interests.1 These eloquent words by the historian Del Boca invite us to investigate the real economic situation of those years and examine the conditions of the agricultural, industrial and service sectors which had survived the difficult events the country experienced during the scramble for Africa at the end of the Second World War and the necessary creation of a new international order. This will be done with the help of unpublished sources from the historical archives of the Banca d’Italia, which give tangible evidence of its work, even after the end of the Trusteeship.

Companies and Firms in Italian Somalia

Colonisation and trusteeship were important stages in the Italian experience in Somalia, which can be observed through the story of Italian firms and their activities. However, their story has never been studied in literature in depth.

Il pane controllato. Un nuovo regolamento per l'Annona di Roma

Il periodo storico preso ad esame per questo saggio e costituito dagli ultimi decenni del XVIII secolo ed esattamente dal 1785 al 1796 ; i documenti esaminati, tra cui, in particolare, spicca per interesse ed importanza quello stilato dal prefetto dell’Annona (Piano di Monsignor Prefetto dell’Annona – Per un nuovo regolamento dell’Annona di Roma), circoscrivono in modo inequivocabile i problemi principali di cui l’Annona era obbligata a ricercare una soluzione per la propria sopravvivenza. Per questo motivo il nuovo regolamento, al fine di limitare il deficit dei bilanci annonari, prevedeva tre punti principali sui quali bisognava intervenire : 1) provvedere i forni a «baiocco » (quelli diretti esclusivamente alla vendita di pane per le classi meno abbienti) di grano ad un prezzo costante tale da evitare ulteriori perdite anche agli stessi fornai ; 2) assicurare ogni anno una scorta di grano in modo da soddisfare i consumi cittadini e non trovarsi nella necessita di ricorrere improvvisamente ad importazioni molto costose ; 3) tagliare le spese amministrative ma senza ulteriori aggravi per i fruitori del sistema annonario. Queste considerazioni, inoltre, sono anticipatrici di quelle riforme attuate mediante una politica libero scambista nel 1801.