Oltre i legami ‘sistemici': il genovese Ottavio Serra nel regno di Napoli e la sua rete di affari (fine del XVI secolo-inizio del XVII secolo

This article proposes an analysis of the Ottavio Serra’s business network, a Genoese resident in the kingdom of Naples between the late XVI century and the first thirty years of the XVII. The study of the Genoese’s economic activity, specifically that of Serra, their interests and contacts both with Naples, the rest of Spanish Monarchy’s domains and other territories beyond «Spanish Imperial System» (such as Genoa, Venice, Rome, Amsterdam…) contributes to the understanding of the radical importance of the «beyond systemic» bonds for the imperial logistic. In fact, those bonds were crucial in linking the different urban centers that were out of the Spanish Empire’s limits with the mail Spanish centers. Moreover, the case-study presented is aimed at putting in perspective the kingdom of Naples’ transformation at the end of the XVI century: even though it is evident that the role of the kingdom had changed completely, this transformation didn’t imply a minor importance in the working of Spanish imperial machine. On the contrary, the analysis of Serra’s network and his interest in Naples demonstrates that the kingdom, its resources and its businessmen were a key factor in maintaining the Spanish Monarchy’s politic, economic and social strategy at the beginning of XVII the century.