HEIndividual fellowship2023–2027

SILKRAA · The Silk Route Across the Alps. Craftsmen Migrations, Commercial Exchanges & Social Relations Between France & Italy in the Early Modern Period

Horizon Europe — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration: 2023-09-01 → 2027-02-28
EU contribution: €308,287
Participants: 4
Scheme: HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-GF

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.

Results in brief

The Silk Route Across the Alps. Craftsmen Migrations, Commercial Exchanges & Social Relations Between France & Italy in the Early Modern Period

The project explores the socio-economic dynamics of silk weavers’ migration between France and the Italian peninsula during the Early Modern period. By combining migration studies, labour and urban history, gender studies, the history of technology, and material culture, it aims to move beyond traditional interpretations of migration as a form of instability. Instead, it highlights migration as a complex social phenomenon involving individual strategies, networks, knowledge transfer, and cultural exchange. Particular attention is given to material evidence and the gender dimension, often overlooked in historiography. The main objective is to deepen our understanding of professional migration in Early Modern Europe and to develop an innovative interdisciplinary methodology. Specifically, the project seeks to: 1. Analyze the balance between attraction/repulsion policies and integration/marginalization dynamics. 2. Reconstruct the lives and motivations of migrant artisans through archival and material evidence, creating a prosopographic database. 3. Assess the cultural, social, and economic contributions of migration to both countries of origin and destination, demonstrating its key role in the success of the European silk industries

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

My research project aims at reconstructing the dynamics of the migration of silk weavers between Italy and France during the early modern age. To do so, an interdisciplinary approach will be put in place that brings together socioeconomic history, migration, labor and gender studies, history of techniques and material culture. Combining macro-historical, micro-historical and biographical reconstruction it will be possible to participate in the renewal of studies of migratory phenomena in the Early Modern period. By using digital humanities, a database will be created. It will collect both demographic data, biographical information and visual and material evidence from Italian and French museums to answer questions such as: What is the balance between attraction/repulsion policies and integration/emargination dynamics? Who is the migrant artisan and why does he migrate? What contribution does migration bring to the country of arrival and the country of departure? The investigation of this subject will demonstrate that professional migrations played a key role in the success of the European silk industries in the old regime.Training in Italian and international historical research methods, and a close dialogue with historians and experts will be crucial for the realization of the project. The results achieved will play a crucial role both in terms of academic results and societal impact. Through the publication of articles in scientific journals, participation in conferences and the organisation of lectures and seminars, the results of the project will be widely disseminated. In addition, extensive communication activities are planned (social networking, meetings with the general public and participation in events organised by the European Union).This project will represent an important starting point for my introduction into the academic field, allowing me to expand my skills and my network of knowledge through both European and non-European collaborations.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PADOVA · PadovaCoordinatorItaly
Associazione per il Museo della Seta di Como · ComoItaly
UNIVERSITE LUMIERE LYON 2 · LyonFrance
YALE UNIVERSITY · New HavenUnited States

SILKRAA · The Silk Route Across the Alps. Craftsmen Migrations, Commercial Exchanges & Social Relations Between France & Italy in the Early Modern Period

Results in brief

The Silk Route Across the Alps. Craftsmen Migrations, Commercial Exchanges & Social Relations Between France & Italy in the Early Modern Period

Project objective

Participants

Links