Some authors sustain that even though literature that regards branding of consumer goods is constantly expanding, there is not enough focus to what concerns the attitudes of consumers toward fashion luxury apparel.   The purpose of this thesis is to discover the differences in the attitudes toward luxury fashion apparel of people in Sweden and Italy.   The method chosen to achieve this goal is a deductive one. This method aims to compare a part of the existent literature about fashion with the fashion reality, in regards to luxury apparel, present in Sweden and Italy. A quantitative research has been conducted through an online survey.   This research found out that in general, the sociological models analyzed fit much better the Swedish society than the Italian one. This means that Swedes resulted much more caring in others’ judgments than Italians. This can be also proved by the fact that they resulted influenced more strongly and by more factors (friends, media, etc.) than Italians. Finally, Swedes, compared to Italians, consider fewer features as important when evaluating a fashion luxury brand and, these features, are also rated slightly different.

The last chapter does not directly concern Poggio, but publishes letters between two of his most bitter enemies, Niccolo Perotti and Lorenzo Valla. They date from the period of the protracted polemics exchanged between them and him (1451-54). An effort is made to characterise the scribe of these letters, and to place him in the context of humanist education. New information on Valla and Perotti is also integrated into their biographies.

This thesis concerns late Palaeolithic settlement in the region of Puglia, south-east Italy, at the close of the Pleistocene. Puglia comprises three sub-regions which contain sites of this period: the Salento peninsula, the Murge, and the Gargano promontory. The late Palaeolithic occupation must be considered in relation to the former existence of an extensive coastal plain, and to the sea-level rise which submerged it. The late Palaeolithic assemblages of the region have been studied previously by Italian archaeologists from a rigid typological stance, with various schemes put forward suggesting evolution of the assemblages through different stages of an Epigravettian tradition. In this thesis, attribute analysis is used to re-examine the principal assemblages, using published data where adequate and supplemented by samples studied by the author in Italy. The results are analyzed to seek the social and economic factors which shaped the various industries, as well as diachronic change wherever it can be demonstrated. Factors such as difficulty in obtaining raw material were clearly crucial to assemblage composition. The existing typological schemes are shown to lack real bases and to mask rather than reveal sociocultural information. Chapter 1 states the aims of the thesis and critically discusses previous theoretical approaches to the late Palaeolithic of the region. Chapters 2 and 3 describe relevant aspects of the regional palaeoenvironment. The author's own methodological approach is explained in Chapter 4, and then used for a detailed study of the assemblages from Grotta delle Cipolliane in Chapter 5. This is followed in Chapter 6 by a broader study of the late Palaeolithic assemblages in Puglia, with discussions of their possible diachronic and synchronic relationships. Chapter 7 develops this latter theme into an attempt to understand the social and economic features of the late Palaeolithic settlement of Puglia, and suggestions are made concerning future work that might improve the quality of the archaeological evidence. Chapter 8 summarizes the main conclusions of the thesis.

This thesis explores Baglione's contributions to art and to the history of art by examining the nature of his artistic and critical originality and the significant influences thereon. In the work for which he is best known, Le Vite ... (1642), Baglione was an interesting and generous critic who was unusually receptive to pictorial effects, even when in architecture and sculpture. He assesses Caravaggio's accomplishments with well chosen observations thereby breaking his restriction to discuss only accessible works of art. A broad view of his paintings and drawings shows Baglione's complex, original and thoughtful voyage of discovery assisted by the intelligence with which he absorbed artistic influences, particularly from Raphael and the Cavalier d'Arpino. His refined style of drawing distances him from Caravaggio. In paintings from the first decade, light and shadow give form to graceful figures enveloped in voluminous garments. After 1610 the compositions become more inventive and increasingly Baroque. Baglione's attempt to make a synthesis out of ideal generalization and naturalistic description and to explore new subject matter constituted a search for a "maniera propria" that combined stylistic originality with a penchant for unusual iconography. The most important trends in Baglione's draughtsmanship are the tendency towards a broader, freer handling and the versatility with which he handles the technical means at his disposal. Though he often crosses over the line into the Baroque, the idealism of his Tusco-Roman formation and fondness for angular lines constrain him from fully yielding to a dynamic disposition. His very personal style can be seen in a number of drawings from the 1620s and 1630s that attain a remarkable pictorial aspect and a Baroque quality of sensual presence. His sophisticated use of the three chalk technique prefigures the form dissolving effects to be popularized by Watteau. At the same time, the defining contour line that emphasizes integrity is not abandoned.

This thesis analyses technical efficiency of local electricity distribution in Italy (1994, 1996) by using both econometric (deterministic frontier, stochastic frontier) and linear programming (Data Envelopment Analysis) tools. Cross-sectional data was examined with respect to (a) ENEL - the Italian electricity monopolist whose restructuring and privatisation is now under way - and its local distribution branches (Chapters 2, 3, and 5); (b) municipal authorities (MUNIs), i.e. town-based electric utilities which sometimes hold franchises for electricity distribution within city limits (Chapters 4 and 5). Estimation results from Chapters 2 and 3 highlighted non-exhaustion of scale economies at sample-mean values. Scope economies between medium and low-voltage distribution were also detected (Ch. 2). Efficiency score series stemming from both econometric and linear programming techniques in Chapters 3 and 5 showed that Southern distributors were relatively under-represented among top units even after allowing for several exogenous environmental variables. The external effects which proved to influence technical efficiency in electricity distribution were consumer density, the percentage of industrial customers, the geographical nature of areas served (metropolitan areas, mountains, etc.), and the interaction between ENEL's units and municipal utilities in those towns featuring ENEL and MUNIs bordering each other. Pooled ENEL-MUNI analysis from Chapter 4 failed to spot any systematic superiority of ENEL's units over municipalities. Generalisation on the ENEL-MUNI efficiency dispute was then discarded, in favour of case-by-case comparison. Paired-samples statistical testing (both parametric and non-parametric) from Chapter 5 showed limited agreement between Stochastic Frontier Estimation (SFE) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) efficiency outcomes. Statistical concordance was more often found when comparing SFE and DEA models sharing the same input-output specification. Again, no apparent superiority of ENEL over MUNIs was found out by DEA linear programs. One-to-one comparisons confirmed that the outcomes were mixed, with ENEL's local branches outperforming MUNIs in metropolitan and (sometimes) rural areas, and MUNIs faring better in medium-sized, Po Valley towns (Northern Italy). Results were not clear-cut for Alpine and rural distributors. The latter however - should be considered on a separate basis in that they will probably need permanent subsidies to meet universal service obligations, irrespective of the future structure of electricity distribution in Italy. Comparable (e.g., urban) units might - on the other hand - be subject to yardstick regulation based upon DEA's 'efficient peer' outcomes. Apart from the main empirical work, this thesis also features institutional and theoretical overviews (Chapters 2 to 5) with relevant literature surveys, a DEA Numerical Appendix (Chapter 5), and a regional map of the Italian territory (end of thesis).

The histories of particular cities and states within that myriad-faceted slice of civilisation, the Renaissance in Italy, have received more scholarly attention than have the diplomatic, ecclesiastical and cultural connections between them. This study is part of a balance-redressing process. Senior clerics traversed frontiers, owing allegiance to their native state, their benefices and, above all, to the Papacy. The purpose of this exploration of the curial careers of four later quattrocento Venetian cardinals is essentially twofold : to account for relations between Venice and the Papacy with reference to individuals who were at once Venetian patricians and princes of the Church; and to examine the cardinals' responses to this situation in terms of political, ecclesiastical and cultural patronage. Where did their loyalty lie? To Venice, with its perennial suspicion of the Church and peculiar notion of the characteristics of a Venetian cardinal? Or to the Pope, expressing overt hostility towards the Republic in the War of Ferrara and placing it under an interdict? Chapter one sets Merco Barbo, Pietro Foscari, Giovanni Michiel and Giovanni Battista Zeno in a Venetian context. Chapters two and three chart relations between the two powers, from the exposure of Cardinal Zeno's involvement in a scheme to transmit Venetian state secrets to Rome in exchange for ecclesiastical preferment, through to Ermolao Barbaro's controversial appointment to the patriarchate of Aquileia, via the short-lived Papal-Venetian league negotiated by Cardinal Foscari in 1480. The fourth chapter considers their proximity to the Supreme Pontiff and how their material fortunes varied under popes Sixtus and Innocent, after which an assessment of the nature, extent and effectiveness of their patronage is divided between chapters five and six, focussing pa.rticularly on Venetian connections. Despite diverging careers, it is concluded that all were bound by variations of the Venetian inheritance.

This study is concerned with filling the gap that exists in our understanding of Venetian diplomacy. Historical works on Renaissance diplomacy have tended to be general, and the experience of Venice in the fifteenth century has been largely overlooked (partly because of the lack of extant diplomatic material). Yet this period is of key importance in the history of diplomacy; it was during the mid-fifteenth century that Italian states first used resident ambassadors, something which became accepted practice in sixteenth century Europe. My approach has been to carry out a prosopographical analysis of every patrician who was appointed by Venice as an ambassador between 1454 and 1494. This has allowed investigation into their economic standing, family connections, intellectual interests, and political importance. Such a socio-political approach not only tells us much about diplomatic practices, but also casts light on the development of elite groups in Venice. The first chapter of the study is introductory, explaining the chronological context of the study and outlining the debate over residency and the use of prosopography. Chapter two discusses elites, describes the personnel who manned Venetian missions, and explains the pattern of Venetian representation. Chapter three compares the theory and the reality of Venetian diplomatic practices. Chapters four and five focus more closely on the prosopography and consider the importance of family connections for ambassadors, their humanist interests, their political standing. The final chapter looks at the development of resident and permanent diplomacy in Venice. I argue that Venetian ambassadors were drawn from the highest echelons of Venetian society and that their elevated status affected the nature of Venetian diplomacy. The type of men appointed by the Republic meant that Venice lagged behind many of its neighbours (especially the Princely states) in the use of resident ambassadors. This was primarily due to the nature of the Republic itself; Venice did not encourage long absences abroad or diplomatic specialisation. The Venetian experience shows that the speed at which Italian states responded to changes in diplomacy varied considerably and was closely related to their own cultural and political values.

The object of the present study is Antonio Pistoia (1436? - 1502), a jocular poet and customs collector who worked mainly in Northern Italy. Although his reputation as a notable literary figure has suffered from neglect in recent times, his work was appreciated by and known to his contemporaries including Pietro Aretino, Ludovico Ariosto, Matteo Bandello, Francesco Berni and Baldesar Castiglione. Research on his life and work came to a halt at the beginning of this century and since then he has failed to attract significant attention. The present study attempts to review and re-examine both the man and his work with a view to putting Antonio Pistoia back on the literary map. My thesis is based on the idea that a poet can be explored from various points of view and with different methodologies tailored to the objects under investigation. In the case of Pistoia a biographical history alone or an interpretation of his work alone would provide only partial results. By combining the two I have attempted to see how he and his work fitted within the cultural scene, the social and historical setting of Renaissance Italy in a period of political and military crisis. Based on archive work and on new textual material retrieved from a number of European libraries, this study challenges and tests widely held theories concerning both his biography and his literary production. By collecting fresh references and winnowing old ones, it throws new light on a series of specific issues from matters of identification relating to the poet's life, the critical fortune of his collection of sonnets, his play Panfila and other minor works, and to problems of uncertain authorship, including poems of undisputed, doubtful and arbitrary attribution; the final section is devoted to his Canzoniere, its composition and the tradition to which it belongs and a thematic and stylistic overview of his poems. A codicological analysis of the allegedly autograph manuscript and a listing of Pistoia's archival documents, manuscripts and early printed sources, completely assembled for the first time and comprehensive of additional new findings, conclude the study.

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Master of Philosophy (MPhil) / Typologies, especially of spearheads, have been decried as inadequate by the archaeological community. They have prevented the synthetic study of ancient weapons and obscured cultural contacts, changes in form and distribution, and changes in fighting style. This thesis presents new typologies of spearheads and swords which are not based on aesthetics or the need to communicate a large amount of material succinctly in the limited space of a site report. Rather, these typologies attempt to perceive the functional characteristics of these weapon classes. The thesis surveys a range of sites in Daunia, Basilicata and Southern Campania applying these new typologies to large suites of weapons. From this assessment a number of conclusions have flowed regarding cultural contacts between indigenous Southern Italic groups and with immigrating groups of Villanovan and Greek origin. The assessment reveals the variety of weapon forms in use and tracks changes over time. These changes expose cultural transformations and alterations in fighting styles. The tracking of paraphernalia often associated with weapons in modern scholarship has also revealed some nuances in patterns of association with weapons which were not previously apparent.