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In the Name of Bologna by
Maria Chiara Mazzi |
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recent and wonderful publication "In the Name of Bologna" (Nel nome di
Bologna), promoted by the Consulta fra Antiche Istituzioni Bolognese, aims
to regain social history in its often neglected aspects, as an example of
how a social fabric is not only formed by great powers (civil and
ecclesiastic), but by a web of institutions often private that, without an
explicit value of religiosity or politics, still are today testimonies of
the vitality and vivacity of civil society. The book shows a wide range of these old and recent Bolognese institutions, promoted by individuals or groups giving life to an almost "ante litteram" welfare since Medieval times. |
And
it makes us discover a very rich fabric: from the "hospital" activities
(for pilgrims, travellers and the sick) at the Monte di Pietà, to the
shameful poor (to soothe the plague of weariness or help the "new poor"),
from congregations to colleges and confraternities and institutions that,
most of all in the XIX century met new social demands (Fondazione Gualandi
for the deaf-mute, Istituto Francesco Cavazza for the blind, Istituzione
Asili Infantili for basic instruction to the most needy, etc.). The institutions remind us that history is not only made of major events and that, thanks to their precious archives, we are able to reconstruct the daily life of an entire community in its complexity. |
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