Militarium: Fonti archivisti e bibliografia per la storia militare della Repubblica di Genova (1528-1797), della Repubblica Ligure (1797-1805) e della Liguria napoleonica (1805-1814) (review)

Research is easier than it has ever been. In this age of ever-expanding electronic resources, the digitization of archival documents, and the scanning of books and records that would have required travel funds and a sabbatical to otherwise view, the ability to gather sources has never been greater. A decade ago, many had been skeptical about the ability of the computer to provide legitimate source material for students, let alone valuable research matter. This is no longer the case. The greater difficulty with all of this information at one's fingertips is how to navigate this enormous sea, constantly growing in breadth and depth. Furthermore, speedy access to resources does not necessarily guarantee the ability to develop a coherent research agenda. To that end, Militarium, by Paolo Piana and Riccardo Dellepiane provides a wonderful example of the continued utility of traditional bibliographic essays, to, in this case, guide researchers through the historiography and the varied archives related to the military history of Genoa.

Giovanni Asserto writes in the preface that the lack of historical study of the Genoese army is tied to the republic's maritime tradition, and the reality that its nemesis, Sardinia-Piedmont, and rival, Venice, occupy the interest of most military historians of pre-Napoleonic Italy (pp. 5-6). The authors, Piana and Dellepiane, are therefore, quite deliberate in the book's organization. The introduction is a review essay, examining the extent of secondary literature on Genoa's military history from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. The introduction alone is worth the time and the , 20.00 price of the book. Thereafter, the book is divided into four parts. The authors provide the reader with a cogent discussion of the nature of Genoa's military organization, its politics, composition, and history, followed by a detailed examination of the printed and archival sources related to each of the specific periods. Part I is the most extensive of the historical essays (100 pages), covering 1528-1797. The length is directly proportional to the chronological expanse, as Part II is entirely dedicated to the sources on this period, whereas the remaining two parts address the revolutionary and Napoleonic eras respectively. In these sections, the historical essays form only chapters followed by those examining the archival source material.

Historians who have consulted published catalogs such as the Inventaire des archives conservées au Service historique de l'Etat-major de l'Armée, Chateau de Vincennes (Paris: 1954) or the Inventar des Kriegsarchiv Wien (Vienna, 1953), know that while they provide a valuable guide to the archives' organization and contents, it only goes so far. Piana and Dellepiane do not simply provide a list, but discuss the utility of source groupings and their appropriate application. This is invaluable to researchers, as it enables them to better focus their attention on specific cartons and documents, as opposed to "fishing in the archives."