The Italian Giunta and the ICHS World Congresses. A research proposal

The Central Committee for Historical Studies - the “Giunta”- can be considered, as we know, the highest and most eminent cultural institution for historical research in Italy. During the last years, and mainly after the Eightieth anniversary of 2014, some scholars renewed their attention on this institution and, in particular, over the wide plurality of functions and purposes it has pursued in its long history, primarily from a national point of view. At the same time, between 2015 and 2017 the Committee decided for a huge reorganization and inventory of its archives, which were also partially provided in a digitalized form. Yet, despite this background, a complete history of the Central Committee still has not been told, as President Giardina noted some years ago1. My research project aims, of course, not to carry out this very ambitious task, but at least to partially explore some of the issues that have not been much enlightened from historiographical studies up to nowadays. My project has therefore these several purposes. Primarily the first challenge of my research is to clarify methods, problems, scientific and organizational issues appeared in the relations between the Italian Central Committee and ICHS Bureau during the second half of XX century. I also would like to enlighten dynamics among ICHS, the Giunta and other academic institutions, starting from the case study of the Commission of History of International Relations, which was founded in mid-1980’s at the Stuttgart Congress and based at the University of Milan by prof. Brunello Vigezzi, who managed it for over twenty years.