Abstract

In the eighteenth century, trade in the Tyrrhenian Sea saw vigorous growth. Along the traffic lanes crossing this sea, those originating from, or ending up in, one of the few marketplaces located on its shores; other traffics connected a multitude of medium and small Tyrrhenian ports, producing a commercial space of relevance both for the players involved and for historians. This essay focuses on the construction process, and on the characters in this space, from the standpoint of its geographical dimensions, trading practices, formal and informal norms, and the complex and multinational institutional framework that «territorialized» the Tyrrhenian Sea in the eighteenth century.