Research Stay in Naples

In early October, together with Dr. Anna Horeczy, I spent a week in Naples as part of the CNR–Polish Academy of Sciences bilateral project I co-coordinate with Dr. Idamaria Fusco: Lessons from Crises and Disasters: The Role of Information Flows between Individuals, Communities, Institutions (16th–19th c.). Our goal was to deepen scientific collaboration and conduct archival research on information flows during crises in Europe from the 16th to the 19th century.

The first days of our stay were devoted to intensive work at the Archivio di Stato di Napoli and meetings with the Italian principal investigator, Dr. Idamaria Fusco (ISEM/CNR). We familiarized ourselves with the structure of archival collections relevant to early modern crisis management. In Naples, you can attend the School of Archival Studies, Paleography, and Diplomatics at the State Archives of Naples. Founded in 1811, it is one of the oldest institutions of its kind in Italy. The school offers a free, two-year post-university program that provides specialized training for those seeking a professional career in archival work.

Among the materials we analyzed were numerous polonica, such as a 1603 letter from the Polish king and documents related to Polish people in Naples in the 16th and 17th centuries. Equally valuable were records concerning the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, an important case study for the history of early modern disaster response.

We also toured the archive’s library, which holds an impressive collection of about 30,000 volumes (including 28,000 pamphlets from the 14th century onward) and is fully integrated into the Italian national library network SBN.

A highlight of the stay was a visit to Pompeii – Villa dei Misteri. Walking through the archaeological site allowed us to reflect on the disaster caused by the eruption of Vesuvius. Observing the city’s preserved urban layout provided a fascinating context for discussing how communities organized daily life and responded to sudden catastrophic events.

On 9 October, Dr. Anna Horeczy delivered a lecture at the Fondazione Banco di Napoli, titled “Mutuality and Cooperation in Poland from the Middle Ages to the Early Twentieth Century.” The talk introduced the Italian audience to the history of mutual aid and social cooperation in Poland, with references to the collections of the Polish Museum of Cooperative History.

We also learned about the activities of the Foundation. Its historical archive, housed in the monumental Palazzo Ricca and Palazzo Cuomo, is the largest collection of banking documents in the world, covering materials from the mid-16th century to the present. That day, we also visited the exhibition “Fortuna: Governare l’incertezza,” devoted to the evolution of concepts of fate, risk, and early insurance practices. The exhibition traces the long cultural journey from the worship of Fortuna to the rationalization of uncertainty through modern risk management and insurance practices. Between faith and calculation, it explores how individuals and societies have confronted the capricious Fortuna from devotional Quadrilli invoking divine protection, to the fears of sea captains navigating unpredictable weather, and finally to the emergence of insurance brokers who, in 19th-century Naples, began calculating premiums based on season, sea conditions, and probability.

The culmination of the stay was our seminar, “Epidemics between Italy and Poland: a comparison,” co-organized by ISEM/CNR and the Fondazione Banco di Napoli as part of our bilateral project. Presentations addressed the circulation of information during epidemics, early findings from archival research in Naples and Warsaw, and a digital humanities component for studying disasters. The discussions identified additional areas for collaboration, including plans for a joint dataset of early modern sources related to crises and disasters.