Fashion, time and the consumption of a Renaissance man in Germany: the costume book of Matthaus Schwarz of Augsburg, 1496-1564

This article uses the perspective of cultural anthropology to consider the construction of an early modern perception of time and its relation to the dress and personal consumption of a male subject. It focuses on a costume book from the Renaissance compiled by Matthäus Schwarz, a member of the bourgeoisie, who lived in Augsburg from 1496 to 1574. The book contains a collection of 137 drawings, portraying Schwarz’s personal choice of dress. It is also an account of Schwarz’s life, beginning with his parents, then covering his life–stages from birth to old age. The relationships between body and dress and between the male subject and the world run as a major thread through the book. This article shows how closely connected Schwarz’s body is with the life of commodities (dress) and consumption. The life–story of this Renaissance man is expressed in terms of changing fashions, which act as his subjective measure of time.     

From Risorgimento to Il Politecnico: impegno and intellectual networks in the Einaudi publishing house, 1945

The article unveils the (dis)continuities between two post-WWII journals, Risorgimento and Il Politecnico, both published by Einaudi in 1945. By reassessing the publishing history of Risorgimento from a genealogical perspective, the article aims to chart the evolutions of the then current intellectual debate on impegno. Specifically, by analysing the relevant contributors’ correspondence and the essays that were published in the journals, the article examines the journals as sites of networking but also tension between different intellectual habitus. This will illuminate not only how the two editors-in-chief (Salinari and Vittorini, respectively) took different positions in relation to both the literary field and the PCI (Italian Communist Party), but also the opposition of editorial staffs – based, respectively, in Rome and in Milan – in relation to the publisher Einaudi.     

Sailing the Bremen Cog

The 14th-century Bremen Cog is the only near-complete representative of a type of large ship with a single square-sail which dominated North European waters for c. 200 years. The evaluation of sailing properties, seaworthiness, potential and characteristics of two replicas is made by professional seamen who have taken them to their limits. Their judgements need to be recorded now, or they will be forgotten especially as systematic tests and sea-trials have been limited and documentation lost. The replicas' captains' expert opinion on the Bremen Cog as a sea-going vessel is a rare case of long-term evaluation of a large-scale experimental-archaeology project.
© 2009 The Authors     

New Indices for the Existing City-Centers Streets Network Reliability and Availability Assessment in Earthquake Emergency

During earthquake emergencies in existing city-centers, streets network permits inhabitants to reach safe areas, and rescuers to access damaged zones and help population. However, the network can suffer from blocks due to debris of collapsed or heavily damaged buildings. Understanding urban fabric modifications and classifying elements vulnerability are fundamental steps while dealing with risk-assessment and risk-reduction strategies. This article offers a first quick approach for assessing seismic vulnerability of paths network by considering interferences with building heritage damages. Quick data about existing urban fabric (e.g., buildings typology; streets and buildings geometries) are combined for developing new vulnerability indices for streets network. The earthquake macroseismic intensity is introduced for evaluating probable street blockages and summarizing the overall rating of risks in critical network locations, thus intensity that is not included in other current quick methods for streets-building interference is here taken into account. Risk-reduction strategies based on the proposed indices could minimize the interventions on architectural heritage, maximizing the safety of evacuees. These new indices could be combined with traditional assessment of buildings vulnerability, and evaluations on pedestrians’ and vehicles evacuation flows, for evaluating management strategies.     

Book reviews

The Political Environment of Planning in Iran, 1971–83: From Monarchy to Islamic Republic. By Hossein Razavi and Firouz Vakil. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1984. xi + 194 pp.

An Historical Geography of Iran. By W. Barthold. Translated by Svat Soucek. Edited with an Introduction by C. E. Bosworth. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1984. xv + 285 PP.

The Soviet Union and Iran: Soviet Policy in Iran from the Beginning of the Pahlavi Dynasty until the Soviet Invasion of Iran in 1941. By Miron Rezun. Alphen aan den Rijn: Sijthoff and Noordhoff International Publishers; Geneva: Institute Universitaire de Hautes Etudes Internationales, 1981. xi + 390 pp. Illustration, Notes, Tables, Appendices to p. 395. Bibliography to p. 419. Index to p. 425.

Iran: Politics and Government under the Pahlavis: An Annotated Bibliography. By Dariush Gitisetan. Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow Press, 1985. 201 pp.

Artisans and Guild Life in the Later Safavid Period. By Mehdi Keyvani. Berlin: Klaus Schwarz Verlag, 1982. xii + 339 pp. No price indicated. Paperback.

The Reign of the Ayatollahs: Iran and the Islamic Revolution. By Shaul Bakhash. New York: Basic Books, 1984. x + 250 pp. Notes to p. 262. Index to p. 276. Cloth, $18.95.

The Path of God's Bondsmen from Origin to Return (Mersad al‐'ebad men al‐mabda’ ela ‘1‐ma'ad); A Sufi Compendium by Najm al‐Din Razi, Known as Daya. Translated from Persian, with introduction and annotation, by Hamid Algar. Persian Heritage Series, edited by Ehsan Yarshater, No. 35. Delmar, New York: Caravan Books, 1982. 537 pp.

Cities & Trade; Consul Abbott on the Economy and Society of Iran, 1847–1866. Edited with an Introduction by Abbas Amanat. London: Ithaca Press, 1983. xliv + 256 pp. £14.50.     

Gaining in impacts by leveraging the policy mix: Evidence from the European Cohesion Policy in more developed regions

This paper investigates how the overall impact of the European Cohesion Policy depends on the composition of the regional investment in Hard (infrastructure) and Soft (business and technical support) projects. The study employs a generalized propensity score (GPS) analysis in a multidimensional treatment context. In particular, the two dimensions considered are given by the Hard and Soft investments. The GPS estimation is based on a set of relevant idiosyncratic features of the regions. The second step estimates a dose–response function in a two-dimensional setting. The results confirm the existence of nonlinearities in the effect of different amounts of funds, but more importantly, show a degree of complementarity between Hard and Soft investment and that for policymakers, it is crucial to exploit such features to achieve more significant impact. The EU's more developed regions could have achieved a doubled GDP p.c. growth rate by pursuing a policy mix where Hard investments are reduced in favor of Soft investments. This improvement is comparable to the one obtained by at least doubling the available resources. The findings add to the evidence collected on the impact of the Cohesion Policy, suggesting a shift of the debate from the quantity to the quality of the expenditure pursued under the umbrella of territorial policies.