May 12, 2021 - French Institute, Florence, Italy.
"A good administration is based on a good knowledge of the territory": it is by following this principle that Napoleon Bonaparte modernizes the territories of the Empire. If the inventory of raw materials dates back to the 17th and 18th centuries, the imperial objective is to exploit resources on a large scale in order to meet the needs of the growing industry. Uniform, rational and centralised management of infrastructures was to put an end to the fragmentation of State services and the Alpine crossing became a strong symbol of the desire to unite France and Italy in a single system of territorial management and planning.
