The geographical position between the gulfs of Naples and Salerno made pre-Roman Sorrento a fundamental point of passage. Around the inhabited centre, sacred sites or scattered settlements developed, including the sanctuary of Athena on the extreme tip of the peninsula near Punta Campanella. This book explores the historical development of the sanctuary from the 6th century BC to the 1st century AD. Drawing on partly unpublished archaeological documentation and literary sources, the book provides useful elements for understanding the site and its relationship with the surrounding area. Sorrento and the Greek presence in the Gulf of Naples are linked to the sanctuary installation, perhaps first dedicated to the Sirens but surely after to Athena. Judging from literary sources, it was one of the best-known places of worship in ancient Italy. It was only in the 1980s that the discovery of an Oscan inscription with a dedication to Minerva made it possible to hypothesise the presence of a sanctuary near the Medieval tower at Punta Campanella. The analysis of the archaeological documentation known until now, the study of the new archaeological plans and the material culture (ceramics) from the site make it possible to better understand the development and the importance of the sanctuary. This book, therefore, defines the historical and territorial development of the sanctuary of Athena, reconstructing the history of the territory of ancient Surrentum and, above all, its most important sanctuary. The book will be of particular interest to archaeologists, ancient historians and historians of religion.

In the aftermath of the religious crisis triggered by the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Church set out to conquer faithful in new territories. The first missionaries to arrive in Japan were the Jesuits who were forced to adopt a different type of evangelization, with a bottom-up rather than a top-down approach. This volume shows that Japan turned out to be a land of experimentation and development of a global Catholicism, as well as an unprecedented laboratory of encounter between political, scientific and religious cultures in the age of the first globalization. It analyzes the different conversion strategies developed by the Jesuit fathers toward various groups, including samurai, Buddhist bonzes and Japanese peasants. A key step was the appropriation of sacred space by the missionaries: first in a violent way with the construction of large crosses and the destruction of temples, pagodas and pagan idols, then through strategies more flexible and accommodating of replacing pre-existing cultural practices. To be attractive, the Jesuit fathers had to compromise with local culture and spirituality, but they were also forced, in some way, to simplify and modify their very way of understanding and living Christianity. This book also reflects on the reasons for the failure of this ambitious Catholic conversion project: the hostility of the Japanese ruling class, the irreducibility of a different culture and spirituality, but also, if not above all, the rise of internal rivalries in Catholicism between Jesuits, Franciscans and Dominicans. This book marks a significant contribution to the literature on the history of the Jesuits, Catholic missions and Christianity in Japan.

This book aims to analyse the legal tools that the legislatures of France, Germany and Italy adopted in order to regulate medical malpractice. In the mid-1970s, a reform movement started in the United States, where there was considerable concern about then ongoing medical malpractice crises. Since the beginning of the current century, France, Germany and Italy have passed statutes that aim to reform medical liability rules. Thus, it is first interesting to assess whether any medical malpractice crises have been identified in these systems and, second, how these have been faced through the passing of new statutes on the continent. Accordingly, the first chapter explores the idea of medical malpractice crisis and its relationship with the insurance market, also considering the reflections of American scholars. It then reconstructs the French, German and Italian legal frameworks, as well as their insurance and litigation contexts, reviewing and commenting on the quantitative evidence that was collected before the reforms. The second chapter briefly summarises the debate on medical malpractice reforms in France, Germany and Italy. It then analyses the statutes that have been passed, distinguishing between reforms that consolidate case law and reforms that introduce innovative solutions, sometimes repealing court-developed doctrines. In particular, the chapter examines in a comparative perspective the diff erent options adopted in these civil law countries with regard to the rules on liability, burden of proof, statute of limitations and damages. Moreover, the chapter examines the reforms of insurance, procedural and evidence law, to the extent they affect medical malpractice cases. The third chapter reviews and analyses the current available data related to medical malpractice litigation and insurance after the reforms adopted in France, Germany and Italy, in order to find out evidence of their effectiveness and efficiency. It also highlights some aspects of medical malpractice law that still belong to the domain of the judiciary. It finally points out which problems may be addressed by the legislatures and what further data should be collected in the future. This work may interest legal scholars, healthcare providers, insurers and policymakers.

"This is a comprehensive reference to the world of unexplained sites, symbols, cities and landscapes. An extensive guide, the book details 40 places and their particular mysteries. A six-page gazetteer at the end of the book includes a further 54 places of mystery throughout the world. Scattered over the planet are the curious ruins of cities, temples and tombs, puzzling earthworks and inscriptions on the land, sacred sites where civilizations have sought communion with the supernatural, and the remnants of lost lands with a proud and prosperous past."--Amazon.com