Entre l'espace et le territoire. La construction des frontières du royaume des Deux-Siciles au XIXe siècle

Between space and territory. The construction of borders in 19th-century Kingdom of Two Sicilies The essay deals with the definition of the border between the Kingdom of Two Siclies and the Papal State between 1836 and 1852. The Neapolitan Kingdom case fits into the wider European frame, as it was deeply involved, like other European states at that epoch, in an intense process of state building, of which the stabilising of the borders was undoubtedly a central aspect. Through a methodology intertwining the new attention to spatiality paid by recent historiography - especially by global history - with the categories developed within the border studies field - especially by the geographic and anthropological components -, the article highlights how the border line was the product of a much more complex process than a simple diplomatic agreement between two states aimed at marking off their sovereign space. The border was indeed the product of a deep interaction between state institutions and social actors living the borderlands, who contributed to shape a more many-sided border “space” than the rigid “territory” traditionally attributed to 19th-century nation-states.