David Salomoni – författare

Essay from the year 2012 in the subject History - Miscellaneous, Harvard University (GSAS), course: International History, language: English, abstract: This work seeks to better understand how a small and, under a political perspective, seemingly insignificant northern Italian state, the Dukedom of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, became connected to the political and military storm brewing in a far-distant corner of the world called America. The time examined in this essay is the year 1776. During the eighteenth century the Dukedom of Parma depended both economically and politically on the two main Bourbon powers: France and Spain. France and Spain were also the two main allies of the American revolutionaries. Parma was diplomatically represented by Spain, while its only independent diplomatic representation of the small state resided in France. Nonetheless, it would not, at first consideration, seem obvious to find such a wide and detailed amount of information concerning the American Revolution, or about the parliamentary debates taking place in London, in the dukedom's only official means of communication, the Gazzetta di Parma. Indeed, in this period, Parma was arguably the most politically conservative state on the Italian peninsula, one unlikely to be so interested in the talk of rights and freedom being spread by the American Revolution. The primary sources used for this research are mostly unpublished. They are the dispatches from the ambassador of Parma at Versailles to the Parmesan secretary of state, contained in Parma s State Archive (PSA), and editions of the Gazetta di Parma from 1776, contained in the municipal archive.

In Educating the Catholic People, David Salomoni reconstructs the complex educational landscape that arose in sixteenth-century Italy and lasted until the French Revolution. Over three centuries, various religious orders, both male and female, took on the educational needs of cities and states on the Italian peninsula, renewing the traditional humanist pedagogy. Historians, however, have not attempted to produce a synthesis on this topic, focusing mainly on the pedagogical activities of the Jesuits and neglecting the contributions and innovations of other groups. This book addresses this historiographical gap, providing a new chapter in the comparative study of pre-modern education.

The volume delves into the multifaceted history of Lisbon's Jesuit College of Santo Antão, tracing its evolution from its establishment to the eventual suppression of the Society of Jesus. This scholarly work examines an array of themes, including the college’s innovative pedagogical practices, its architectural developments, and its significant contributions to the preservation of a rich literary heritage. Moreover, the volume situates the institution within broader social and scientific context.