Abstract

An analysis of a few key words, and the role assigned to certain kinds of sources, can be helpful in understanding some general aspects of the historical work of Luisa Mangoni. Words like "generation", adjectives like "underground", and the intensive use of private letters characterize the history of culture devised by Mangoni. In cultural history of this kind, intellectual networks play a key role; dialogues, projects, and the interplay between people and groups are as important as the institutional and public dimension of intellectual history.