[Regional differences in demographic events in Italy: some problems and hypotheses of a historical synthesis].
The author examines regional differences in demographic conditions that existed in Italy in the period preceding the demographic transition with a focus on dissimilarities both among and within the major regions. The author concludes that these differences are such that only a regional approach as opposed to a national approach is appropriate for the study of Italian historical demography in the period from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century. (ANNOTATION)