Engineers and the Nation in Italy (1750-1922): Local Traditions and Different Conceptions of Unity and Modernity

Denis Bocquet (1)

1 Réseaux, Institutions, Territoires (RIT)

This paper deals with the changing relationship between the Italian engineering profession and the idea of Nation in Italy between the 18th and the early 20th centuries. The main premise is that the modernization of the conditions for exercising the profession began in the pre-unification states, well before the movement towards national unification, and that it is precisely in this diverse history that the essence of the identity of Italian engineers is to be found. Many specific features of the Italian engineering landscape can be traced back to this history: from the strength of 'localism', embodied for example by municipal engineers, to the various legacies inherited from the professional organizations of the Ancien Régime. The aim of this article is to analyse changes in the national identity of Italian engineers in relation to the specific form of nation-state building process the country experienced and to the specific forms of professional organization in the peninsula.

Mots clés: Engineers; Italy; Italian Unification; Ancien Régime; Modernization; Milan; Rome; Florence; Turin; Ponts et Chaussées; Naples; Napoléon; old regime; municipal; urban

Domaines: Histoire

Denis Bocquet. Engineers and the Nation in Italy (1750-1922): Local Traditions and Different Conceptions of Unity and Modernity. History and Technology, 2007, vol.23 (n°3), p.227-240. ⟨10.1080/07341510701300304⟩. ⟨halshs-00150413⟩