LIBRO

The History of the Customs: A Historical Outline of Customs and Trade Policy in Europe and the World

di Antonio Nicali, Giuseppe Favale

From the pentecoste of the ancient Greeks, the first historically documented example of a general tax on goods in transit from and to the city of Athens, to the era of globalization, characterized by the tremendous ease with which people, goods and ideas circulate: how many products have passed through the countless customs posts existing between empires, states, fiefs, cities, provinces, municipalities; how many caravans of merchants, how many precious treasures; how many checks made, how many taxes collected, in how many different coinages? The diwan of the ancient Arabs, the comfortable sofa on which public and private affairs were concluded after lengthy and inevitable negotiations, has turned into an office, warehouse, store, and a series of laboratories where professionals and technicians work with complex analysis instruments, using the most advanced technologies and procedures in the various sectors. Because, if we go back over the history of the customs post from its origins to the present day, it basically has been and is a meeting place of persons, peoples, civilisations and different interests; a place where many languages are spoken, many coins are circulating. A place where things that are exotic, extraordinary and different can be seen, touched, smelt and assessed for the first time. At first with curiosity, with suspicion but also with the desire to find out, to broaden horizons, to have new experiences and to open up wide prospects. A place where goods and products of every type and origin, with gaudy colours, unusual shapes and penetrating smells, are piled up; a time for assimilation and praise, a short pause before continuing the journey, where the travellers' tales, the myths and the legends materialise in concrete objects, destined to be exchanged in the markets that often spring up spontaneously near customs offices so as to avoid further delays in the unceasing journey of trade.