The mobility of people in the Mediterranean: measures of control and identification in the Kingdom of Naples in the modern era

The concept of foreigner in the Kingdom of Naples in the modern period was equated with the concept of vagrant/enemy. Some, based on the etymological meaning of the word, considered foreigners as people who «wandered from one place to another with no stable residence and living here and there». The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how the issue of identifying the foreigner, in transit or seeking permanent residence was dealt with in the Kingdom of Naples in the modern era. The clandestine access of people and goods could compromise not only the unstable sanitary conditions but also the economic and commercial ones. The analysis of the legislation and the documents of the agencies responsible for the controls and verifications will help us outline the measures and means applied in controlling the land and sea borders, the documentation and the costs of the identification procedures.