@phdthesis{discovery1348923,
          school = {University of London},
           title = {Systems of charity in Turin (1541-1789)},
            year = {1993},
            note = {Thesis digitised by British Library EThOS. Third party copyright material has been removed.},
        abstract = {The thesis represents the first thorough study of forms
of charity and medical and poor relief in an Italian city
in the post-Renaissance period. It complements the studies
of other Italian cities carried out for an earlier period
and contributes to comparison between European patterns of
charity. The study reverses the usual demand-centred
approach, which sees transformations in charitable
provision mainly as a response to changing demographic and
economic conditions, by focusing instead on the role played
by changes in the nature of "supply", i.e. in the social
composition of governors and benefactors and in the
indirect and symbolic meanings which charity embodied for
its dispensers. The main argument of this study is that
the nature of control over charity had a significant impact
on the form initiatives towards the poor took: dynamics of
conflict, prestige and patronage among the elites
contributed to forge charitable attitudes and definitions
of poverty to a much larger extent than it has been
recognised. Wills and other biographical material,
figurative representations of charity and analysis of the
architectural form of institutions have been used, besides
the more obvious sources, to trace shifts in the symbolic
implications of charity.
This study also contributes to a reassessment of the
periodisation and the features usually regarded as typical
of the 'Italian model' of charity and poor relief. It
argues, in particular, that the importance of institutional
forms of care and assistance has been exaggerated and the
role played by outdoor relief for the poor and sick
underestimated. Moreover, it emphasises the crucial
function of the municipal government as agency of relief
well into the early modern period.},
             url = {https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1348923/},
          author = {Cavallo, S.}
}