Alla «corte» dei Gesuiti. Giovanni De Rosis fra fede e tecnica per il governo idraulico del territorio

Many of the technicians, architects, and engineers who, starting in the 16th century, dealt with hydraulic matters, actively engaging in important works related to the regulation of water and land reclamation in the Italian Peninsula, came from the Company of Jesus. Among these was Giovanni De Rosis (1538-1610), an architect and hydraulic engineer, whose biography is a testimony of his and that of his brothers’ dedication to the science of hydraulics and construction, but also to the circulation of knowledge and «practical» knowledge acquired inside and outside the Order, by virtue of ties built over time with technicians from different geographical backgrounds and with their own field of training. Mainly archival papers, maps and drawings (various images of the territory not necessarily cartographies meeting the parameters of «measurement»), have allowed us to reconstruct the deep connection of the Company with the area, highlighting its managerial and political capacity, as well as, to weave a network of relationships through which to consolidate its theoretical-practical knowledge.