di Marco De Nicolò
in Memoria e Ricerca n.s. 22 (2006), p. 5
In the last thirty years local historiography has become more mature. In the case of regional history it seems necessary to search for deeper and more precise definitions. The useful collaboration with other disciplines, as well as the comparison among different regional and local histories, can help the historians who work about these themes. One of the points which are always discussed is the regional ambit: if it seems reasonable to criticize the reduction of the regional history to its administrative borders, this reductions very often seems to be the dimension in which it is circumscribed. Indeed, this model has not prevented to carry out researches either on more circumscribed or larger areas. The historian has been able “to pursue” his own specific topic vaguely referring to this administrative outline. What seems paradoxical is the scanty number of studies which could take advantage from these borders, that is the administrative and institutional history.