History

The result of a successful intuition of Paolo Prodi, the Italian-German Historical Institute (ISIG), since its foundation in 1973, has represented an important crossroads for the dialogue between different European historiographies, with particular reference to the Italian and German ones. For whole generations of Italian and German historians, the Institute has been a privileged space for exploring the links between different research perspectives and for developing lines of research capable of profoundly influencing European historiography.

In its tradition, the ISIG has tackled central questions of religious, political and social history, such as the Reformation, confessionalisation, social discipline and the development of the modern state, paying particular attention to long-term analyses and fostering dialogue with the historiography of the Germanic area. More recently, the Institute’s research has focused on the key problems of the transition period, critical developments in modernity, the mediatisation of early modern and contemporary society, urban history and history of mobilities, and public and digital history.

Paolo Prodi directed the Institute from 1973 to 1997. He was succeeded by Giorgio Cracco (1998-2005), Gian Enrico Rusconi (2005-2010), Paolo Pombeni (2010-2016) and Christoph Cornelißen (2017-2023). Since February 2023 the director is Massimo Rospocher.