Introduction

The book analyzes the land technical corps officers (artillery, engineers and geographical engineers) and their borderline position between science, technical know-how, administration and war; the purpose is to assess the extent to which France influenced Italy in this respect. We look first at the French model and then at how it was received in Italy, the context being mainly confined to the Cisalpine and Italian Republics and the Kingdom of Italy between 1796 and 1814. Those were the states that remained longest within the French ambit, though formally they were independent. A marked influence can indeed be observed, despite the huge structural difficulties and resistances inherent in such a contingency.