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This article explores the epistemological and cultural evolution of nostalgia in nineteenth-century France, focusing on the crucial period (1850-1914) when the concept lost its medical meaning and embraced new cultural scenarios created by the rise of a modern nationalism and the perception of national territory. The analysis examines two major scientific discourses on nostalgia, medical and geographical, recognizing that these representational systems broadly exceed the limits of scientific logic and function as heterogeneous genres that include political, philosophical, and literary concerns of the period. By tracing the genealogy of the concept of nostalgia, the article establishes a relationship between the medical thesis and the work of Paul Vidal de la Blache, who is considered the founder of the discipline of modern geography in France. The article delves into the cultures of sensibility and explores the politics of feelings--areas of research that are quite relevant for our own nostalgic era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]