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Collecting coins and connecting collectors : government and social networks in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1816-1860)

Book Contribution - Book Chapter Conference Contribution

Recent archival research has revealed new data on the history of collecting and archaeology in northern Sicily during the nineteenth century, when Sicily was ruled by the Bourbons and annexed to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Records show how collectors, dealers and diggers operated in this historical context, and authorities dealt with illegal excavations, acquisition of collections and exportations of finds abroad. The main scope of this paper is to pinpoint an unexpected system of networks in Bourbon Sicily, focused on two principal case studies. First of all, I outline the so-called ‘Network of state authorities’, which comprises regional and local authorities dealing with the supervision and management of Sicilian antiquities. Archival research has clarified how the Bourbons undertook accurate and careful safeguarding to achieve this aim and to protect the archaeology. To explore this, I use the valuable case study of Giuseppa Giammone (1832), who found and collected ancient coins in Giarre (Catania) without reporting them to the local authorities.
Book: Proceedings of the XV International Numismatic Congress, XV INC 2015, Taormina 21-25 September 2015
Pages: 135 - 139
ISBN:9788894820317
Publication year:2017
Accessibility:Open