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In the 12th century, under its Norman rulers, Sicily stood as one of the most flourishing regions of the Mediterranean; by the late 15th century it had sunk into the state of semi-colonial depression and dependence that has chartacterized so much of its modern history. It is this transformation ” a process of socio-economic change that went hand in hand with political turmoil ” that forms the subject of this volume. Henri Bresc approaches this both from the viewpoint of particular topics, such as the notarial class or the tiny island of Pantelleria, and that of larger themes. One of these is the composition of Sicily's population. These articles trace the deteriorating status of the Arabs and Greeks on the island, the demographic circumstances that brought in new immigrants (notably Albanians, but also corsairs), and the emergence of a society now dominated by its Latin and Italian components. Other articles contrast the intensive suburban agriculture with the empty spaces of the large estates, and throw light on the development of a new landowning structure, based on these estates which were given over to cereals, grown for export in order to meet the financial demands of the long conflict with the Angevins. Au 12e siècle, sous le règne de rois normands, la Sicile était une des régions les plus prospères de la Méditerranée. A la fin du 15e siècle, elle avait sombré dans l'état de dépression et de dépendance semi-coloniale qui est devenu la marque d'une grande partie de son histoire moderne. Cette transformation ” un processus de changement socio-économique accompagne de bouleversements politiques ” forme le sujet de cet ouvrage. L'approche d'Henri Bresc se fait à deux niveaux: selon l'angle de sujets spécifiques, tels la classe notariale, ou encore la minuscule île de Pantelleria et à partir de thèmes plus vastes; parmi ces derniers, se trouve la composition de la population sicilienne. Ces articles retracent la détérioration du s

This book explores the relationship between families, firms, and regions and the extent to which these relationships contribute to regional economic and social development.Although family business participation in economic activities has been a common phenomenon since pre-industrial societies, and its importance has evolved throughout time and across spatial contexts, the book suggests that these factors have often been neglected in family business and regional studies. Taking this research gap into account, the book aims to deepen our understanding of the role family firms play in the regional economy. In particular, it explores two seldom studied questions. Firstly, what role do family firms play in regional development? Secondly, how do different spatial regional contexts shape family firm operations and performance?Family Business and Regional Development presents a model of'spatial familiness'and uses themes such as productivity, networks and competitiveness to shed new light on family businesses. Moreover, it approaches the juxtaposition between family business and regional studies to encourage the cross-fertilisation of ideas, theories, and research methods between the two fields.Bringing together leading experts in entrepreneurship, regional economics, and economic geography, this book will be a valuable reading for advanced students, researchers and policymakers interested in family firms, regional studies and economic geography.

The most important figure of seventeenth-century Neapolitan music, Francesco Provenzale (1624-1704) spent his long life in the service of a number of Neapolitan conservatories and churches, culminating in his appointment as maestro of the Tesoro di S. Gennaro and the Real Cappella. Provenzale was successful in generating significant profit from a range of musical activities promoted by him with the participation of his pupils and trusted collaborators. Dinko Fabris draws on newly discovered archival documents to reconstruct the career of a musician who became the leader of his musical world, despite his relatively small musical output. The book examines Provenzale's surviving works alongside those of his most important Neapolitan contemporaries (Raimo Di Bartolo, Sabino, Salvatore and Caresana) and pupils (Fago, Greco, Veneziano and many others), revealing both stylistic similarities and differences, particularly in terms of new harmonic practices and the use of Neapolitan language in opera. Fabris provides both a life and works study of Provenzale and a conspectus of Neapolitan musical life of the seventeenth century which so clearly laid the groundwork for Naples'later status as one of the great musical capitals of Europe.