We are proud to announce that Dr. Giorgio Ennas will present at the “Comunità Coloniali” conference in Turin on 12 and 13 March 2026. Together with Dr. Giorgio Toso (University of Genoa), Dr. Ennas will discuss their research on the development of health cooperation in Tunis between the Beylical government and European consuls, and the subsequent creation of the Tunis Health Council, which they place in a wider Mediterranean context of trade, health cooperation, and the political and economic ambitions of Tunis and the Italian States.
The conference “Colonial Communities” seeks to address the relatively unexplored study of Italian communities abroad, with particular attention to the Mediterranean world in the period between national unification (1861) and the occupation of Libya (1911). At the core of this reflection lies the close, and not merely chronological, relationship between the migratory dynamics that characterized the early decades of unified Italy and the rise of colonial expansionism. The seminar therefore aims to investigate this connection through the specific lens offered by the Italian presence in North Africa and in the Ottoman Empire before the occupation of Libya.
Organised by Dr. Beatrice Falcucci (Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona – University of Florence) and Dr. Costantino Paonessa (University of Turin) with the support of the Italian Society for the Study of Contemporary History (SISSCO), the Association for the Study of Modern Italy (ASMI) and the University of Turin, Department of Culture, Politics and Society, it will host researchers and scholars from various countries. The conference aims to systematise research that remains fragmented across different disciplines and historiographical traditions, ultimately placing the specific historical development of Italy and its fragmented predecessor states within a broader international dialogue. The conference provides an excellent platform for Dr. Ennas and Dr. Toso to present the findings of their article “Between Opportunism and Solidarity” to the academic community.
Wishing Giorgio and his companion all the best for their presentation, and a thoughtful and inspiring discussion.