La politica delle calamità. Emergenze naturali e sanitarie nell’Italia liberale

The relation between politics and calamities in the aftermath of Italian unification has not been extensively studied. This paper provides an historiographic analysis of essays and remarks published in several books and journals in order to reconstruct the ways in which liberal governments of the second half of nineteenth century handled natural and health emergencies raised by earthquakes, pandemics and floods. The paper seeks to examine the role played by political institutions and social actors, rather than focus on the body count.