In the context of periodicals devoted to history, Società e Storia is distinct in aiming to cover a wide chronological span, from the medieval to the contemporary. From its very foundation in 1978 the ‘history of society‘ has been a central theme; this is understood to mean a ‘form of historical research which aims to pull together strands of historical development drawn from the most diverse areas of specialism’ (Presentazione, a.1, n.1, 1978) The spectrum of the journal is therefore both broad and varied: from historical demography to the history of material culture and the rural economy; from analysis of class and social groups to the study of political and ecclesiastical institutions; from considerations of gender to political and military history; from the perspective of language and the oral record, to visual culture and social and political expression; from economic, urban and history to cultural history and the history of ideas. At the heart of the journal is the section dedicated to substantial essays (saggi), which presents the fruit of original historical research on Italian and international themes. This section is closely linked to one on trends and debate (orientamenti e dibattiti) which presents areas of study, or issues relating to historiography and bibliography are presented. Alternating between the numbers (fascicoli) of the journal are other sections on: the cultural heritage and the organization of research in which issues of methodology and teaching are discussed as are questions related to the conservation and use of the documentary patrimony (both archival and bibliographical). This section of the journal also considers the historian’s profession in which the formation, work and output of historians - both past and present - are discussed. Rounding off the journal is a section on books received (libri ricevuti) and a full complement of Notices on recent publications. In addition to contributions in Italian, Societa e Storia welcomes entries in English, French, Spanish and German.