Paesaggi del rischio. Istituzioni e saperi scientifici nel Mezzogiorno d’Italia - secc. XVIII - XX

Abstract

This volume contains the Proceedings of the Conference “Risk Landscapes. Institutions and Scientific Knowledge in Southern Italy - 18th-20th Centuries” held in Bari in June 2025, which saw the participation of scholars from various disciplines, both humanistic and scientific. The Conference is part of the PRIN PNRR 2022 research project “South Risk. From data collection to monitoring interventions and risk prevention. A southern history”, coordinated by the Department of Humanistic Research and Innovation at the Aldo Moro University of Bari. The topics covered include the birth of meteorological observatories between Bari, Naples, and Messina and the observations conducted there until the beginning of the 20th century, with particular attention to: instrumentation and measurement protocols; in-depth analysis of the scientific activity of authoritative scholars of the time in the fields of meteorological, engineering, and environmental science; the study of environmental disasters and catastrophic seismic events that occurred in Southern Italy during the reference period; the close relationship between the hydrogeology of the territories and the development of particular pathologies (malaria), with particular reference to the case of Daunia; the environmental impact of human activities.