Povertà e assistenza a Jesi nelle suppliche di carità (secc. XVII-XVIII)

For the past four decades, the international historiographical community has demonstrated particular interest in an emerging field of study focused on the phenomenon of pauperism and the welfare systems of the modern age. The issue has recently become the subject of renewed research, owing to little or only occasionally-used resources, such as petitions to charity. Such resources allow us to highlight the various strategies used by the individual to obtain charity, thus making it possible to observe the figure of the pauper from a different perspective: not just as passive recipients of eleemosynary gifts, but also as active subjects, conscious of their rights. Through study of such petitions to charity, this article seeks to analyze the characteristics of public intervention in the area of charitable assistance in the city of Jesi between the 17th and 18th centuries. What emerges is a composite, individualized picture of the needs of the most vulnerable populations, specifically those - including the elderly, widows, children, and the mentally ill - who were not able to support themselves.