Ai confini d'Italia: Saggi di storia trentina in età moderna, and: Ceti tirolesi e territorio trentino. Materiali del Landschaftliches Archiv di Innsbruck. 1722-1785 (review)

Ai confini d'Italia was published after the death of the well-known Italian scholar Claudio Donati (1950-2008), collecting his essays regarding the history of the Trentino that were published over the years in several volumes following his first monograph in 1975. Here, his more than thirty years of experience in different fields—clerical, noble, and military—have enriched the themes of his initial research. The first pages provide a complete bibliography of Donati's works, evidence of his interest in many themes from the early-modern period.

The first part of the book includes essays on the institutional features of the Prince-Bishopric of Trento, whereas the second part treats the history of society and culture. There is, however, a clear link between these two parts: The history of institutions has been developed throughout with continuous references to the men who embodied them, whereas the biographical studies do not ignore the changes in the political and institutional environment and the role played by these men.

These essays cover the early-modern period, with a particular attention to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Donati has traced the steps in the evolution of the institutions of the Prince-Bishopric from the low Middle Ages to the secularization in 1802, outlining the periods with the most important changes. The period of the crisis of the European mind, which has been long neglected by Italian and Trentine historiography, is clearly emphasized here, as Donati always considered it significant—together with studies pertaining to the Austrian and wider European areas—because it was a crucial time of change and a period of real transition toward the Enlightenment. At that time, the Prince-Bishopric of Trento emerged as an important communication channel between the Habsburgs' Austrian territories and their Italian dominions, which explains Donati's interest in its political relationship with the county of Tirol, the Roman Curia, and Vienna.

Particular attention has been paid to the reforms under Maria Theresia and Joseph II, divided into two phases, which adheres to a system used by many scholars of the eighteenth century. The first phase regards the centralization of administration during the government of Leopoldo Ernesto di Firmian. The Staatkirchentum politics started by Kaunitz characterized the second, more tumultuous phase, with the prince determined to obtain control of ecclesiastic discipline and divine worship. For the Trentino, this could be seen as a lethal attack on its autonomy that was headed by the bishop and the Chapter and seemed to lead to the disappearance of the Prince-Bishopric. However, as prince of the empire, the bishop was protected, and only during the years of Napoleon did secularization take place and Trentino become part of the Austrian district of Tirol.

The second part of this volume includes essays concerning social and cultural history in the eighteenth century. The biographical studies offer another perspective on the previously mentioned two phases. The author has noted that toward the middle of the century Trento represented an interesting laboratory for reforms due to the presence of representatives of the Catholic Enlightenment and other individuals who would soon play a role of high importance in Austrian and Italian reformation: Leopoldo di Firmian, Giuseppe Antonio di Sperges, Gian Carlo di Herberstein, Cristoforo Migazzi, and Antonio Pilati. They created a network of cooperation among noblemen, enlightened churchmen, and scholars that contrasted starkly with the most conservative clerical attitude. Some of these men are the subject of Donati's essays (Pilati, for instance); others...