Una «triste e solenne» terra di galantuomini. Per un profilo del notabilato in Basilicata in età liberale

Abstract

In recent years, international historiography has shared a revived interest in the role and function of the European classes of notables between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, particularly in the field of local prosopographical research. Taking these inputs as its starting point, the following study outlines the characters and peculiarities of the no-tables living in Basilicata, and focuses on the period from the unification of Italy to the end of World War I. By investigating their role as political mediators in centre-periphery relations, it also aims at highlighting the complex process of their rise and legitimacy, which was deeply influenced, particularly from 1880s-90s, by their autonomous choices both as to their professional development and commitment in local institutions.