ACCOUNTING, TAX SYSTEM, AND GOVERNANCE IN SOUTHERN ITALY IN THE MODERN AGE: THE DOGANA OF FOGGIA (1447-1806)

The Dogana of Foggia was a tax institution of the Kingdom of Naples established around the mid-fifteenth century, through which the governing authorities administered wide grazing lands in Northern Apulia. Since its foundation and for over three hundred fifty years, this institution was at the centre of the Kingdom’s events, continuously mediating between the opposing economic interests that occurred in the Tavoliere area. Using the Foucauldian governmentality framework this paper wants to study how the accounting was used in the Dogana administration to ensure the government of territory and population, as well as a correct tax collection. Basing on an information system characterised by elementary but very effective surveys in monitoring the many variables influencing the local economy, the Dogana has carried out its activity bearing important repercussions on the economy of the whole Kingdom.