"Confraternity studies has been one of the most innovative and active fields of scholarly inquiry in the last several decades, yet few scholars have ventured beyond the traditional focus on northern Italian communities. This ambitious volume addresses the historical and historiographical origins of these scholarly biases, introduces the vibrant yet understudied world of southern Italian confraternities, and provides many suggestions for areas of future research and comparative analysis. Fifteen essays by leading Italian scholars investigate medieval and early modern religious confraternities in Naples, several mainland regions, and the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. The result is not only the first book in English to examine southern Italian confraternities, but also the most wide-ranging chronological and geographic survey in any language. The collection makes a significant contribution to confraternity studies and will interest scholars of art, religion, lay sociability, and charitable institutions in Italy, Europe, and the Mediterranean."--