Religious Tourism and the Italian Economy, 1870-1950: The Development of Catholic Pilgrimages as a Mass Phenomenon (Palgrave Studies in Economic History)

This book addresses a little-studied area of the history of tourism, religious tourism, and pilgrimage and introduces a comprehensive economic analysis of their development from elite pursuits to a mass phenomenon. Focusing on Rome, Lourdes, and the Holy Land as destinations, the book showcases religious tourism as a key precursory factor in mass tourism in Italy and Europe. Departing from conventional historiographical timeframes, the authors demonstrate that the surge in tourism during the Italian “economic miracle” did not arise ex novo at that time but was part of a longer process of transformation originating prior to the Second World War. Diverse factors are discussed such as the social and economic role of the Catholic Church, its relationship to tourism, revolutions in transport technologies, rising wages, and increasing leisure time. Key questions are explored regarding religious travel (who, when, how) and how it gained momentum in the first half of the twentieth century. Drawing on a wealth of unpublished sources, many from the Vatican Archives, the book uncovers new religious, social, and cross-cultural perspectives and contexts for studying the economic history of tourism. 

Riccardo Semeraro holds a Ph.D. in Economics and Management from the University of Verona, Italy, and is currently a Research Fellow in Economic History at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Brescia, Italy. In 2015–2016, he was a visiting researcher at the Department of Applied Economic Analysis at the University of Alicante, Spain, and continues to collaborate with its scholars on comparative studies of Italy and Spain in a broader European and global framework. His research spans business, financial, and tourism history, focusing on socioeconomic resilience, the role of the Catholic Church in Italian economic development, and the evolution of mass tourism. 

Luciano Maffi is Associate Professor of Economic and Global History at the University of Parma, Italy. He also teaches Economic History at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan. He previously held academic positions as Lecturer at the University of Salento, and as Research Fellow at Bocconi University in Milan, the University of Genoa, and the University of Brescia. In 2014–2015, he was a Visiting Researcher at Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford. His main research interests lie in economic, financial, and social history, with a particular focus on private banking. 

Giovanni Gregorini is Full Professor of Economic History and Head of the Department of History and Philology at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy, where he teaches Economic History and Business History. His research interests focus on public finance in the 17th-century State of Milan; the history of the Lombard banking and finance sector between the 19th and 20th centuries; and Italian and European economic history in the second half of the 20th century. He has edited the proceedings of several national and international conferences, as well as numerous publications on the development of local economic systems, particularly in the areas of Brescia and Bergamo. In recent years, his work has also explored the economic and financial history of Italian charities and religious congregations.