The reflections presented in this paper originate from an analysis of two volumes devoted to Monferrato and, more generally, to the spaces of the State of Savoy. They tackle the complex events concerning the negotiation and establishment of frontiers of these territorial entities during the early modern age, and pay much attention to questions such as the acquisition of territorial knowledge, the practices carried out by technicians, and the conflicts they provoked. The two volumes confirm that the study of frontiers can provide a significant contribution for the reinterpretation of centre/periphery relations in the formation process of modern European states..
Keywords: Frontiers, State, territory, cartography.