Centralisation étatique et pouvoir local en Sicile au XIXe siècle

This article analyses the administrative centralization in Sicily in 1818 emphasizing the question of encounter/confrontation between the State apparatus and the local power structure. The point departure for the study is the administrative reform of 1817 It demonstrates its bureaucratic utopian character and examines its applica tion in Catania during the early years of its introduction there. The example demon strates that the only way the model of centralization can take root in the reality of the periphery is by negotiating contract with the local elite The peripheral State apparatus becomes stake in the battle for power which opposes different groups. Thus the protagonists adopt new practices and political language and accept the mediation of the Superintendent. The latter becomes an active element in the process he enters the local political arena and cuts bit of power for himself. We are faced with situation of precarious equilibrium in which there is constant tension centered around ressource whose availability depends increasingly upon the results of the battle for local power.