The volume analyses the multifarious boundaries of modern Tuscany - land and sea frontiers, internal and external borders, civil and ecclesiastical, as well as economic and cultural boundaries -, showing their complex interactions and correlating them with wider historical and geographical contexts, such as the intricate Mediterranean theatre and the Spanish imperial system. Far from being the exclusive outcome of state activity, the making and controlling of boundaries were profoundly affected by the actions of sundry peripheral actors as well, thus revealing a fairly scattered structure of power across Tuscan society and territory - which in any case does not imply playing down the role of the state. The border appears as a living entity, conceived not as a continuous, clear-cut, and unchanging line, but rather as a granular and discontinuous space, often resulting from a long and complicated historical process.
Keywords: Modern Tuscany; Mediterranean; boundaries; Spanish Empire