The Illuminist reforms affecting the science of administration in Europe during the 1700s influenced the Kingdom of Naples as well. Following the impulse of personalities such as Bernardo Tanucci and of sovereigns such as Charles III and Ferdinand IV, several modernizing elements were introduced, amongst which the Real Colonia di San Leucio, a company town designed to welcome all the phases of silk production, may very well be noted. The unique structure of the Real Colonia di San Leucio, based on several residential zones, each structured on a standardized building project, had a hand in turning the colony into a real industrial community, whose life was regulated by a charter which ratified the substantial equality of the artisans in San Leucio. The economic framework achieved in the town of San Leucio was similar to a kind of household economy, as it was focused on the industriousness of families and on their productive capacity, on consumption and on the work towards the aspirations of consumers, falling under the category of the “industrious revolution” set out by De Vries. The overall view is indeed complex, also due to some historiographical gaps, that may be bridged by researching the bookkeeping activities on the colony’s ledgers. As things stand now, an overall study on the bookkeeping of the San Leucio is still absent from the literature on the matter. This paper – written through the close examination of the sources within the section titled San Leucio of the Historical Archive of the Royal Palace of Caserta – describes the uniqueness of the San Leucio bookkeeping model, itself able to integrate the techniques of company accounting with the management of land assets into a form of multiple bookkeeping responsibility. All of the above contributes towards the creation of an analysing perspective being able to describe the value of the San Leucio experiment, while offering a compared reflection between the realities of the colony and the critical issues of the Kingdom’s Economy.
UN SISTEMA A RESPONSABILITÀ CONTABILE MULTIPLA IN UNA COMPANY TOWN BORBONICA: SAN LEUCIO
POMELLA A.
2020
Abstract
The Illuminist reforms affecting the science of administration in Europe during the 1700s influenced the Kingdom of Naples as well. Following the impulse of personalities such as Bernardo Tanucci and of sovereigns such as Charles III and Ferdinand IV, several modernizing elements were introduced, amongst which the Real Colonia di San Leucio, a company town designed to welcome all the phases of silk production, may very well be noted. The unique structure of the Real Colonia di San Leucio, based on several residential zones, each structured on a standardized building project, had a hand in turning the colony into a real industrial community, whose life was regulated by a charter which ratified the substantial equality of the artisans in San Leucio. The economic framework achieved in the town of San Leucio was similar to a kind of household economy, as it was focused on the industriousness of families and on their productive capacity, on consumption and on the work towards the aspirations of consumers, falling under the category of the “industrious revolution” set out by De Vries. The overall view is indeed complex, also due to some historiographical gaps, that may be bridged by researching the bookkeeping activities on the colony’s ledgers. As things stand now, an overall study on the bookkeeping of the San Leucio is still absent from the literature on the matter. This paper – written through the close examination of the sources within the section titled San Leucio of the Historical Archive of the Royal Palace of Caserta – describes the uniqueness of the San Leucio bookkeeping model, itself able to integrate the techniques of company accounting with the management of land assets into a form of multiple bookkeeping responsibility. All of the above contributes towards the creation of an analysing perspective being able to describe the value of the San Leucio experiment, while offering a compared reflection between the realities of the colony and the critical issues of the Kingdom’s Economy.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
