Overall Research Project Description The project is centered on the book I am completing, titled "Fashioning Italian Women, Fashioning a Nation 1780s-1860s," a monograph on Italian sociability and the writings of women who animated literary salons and "salotti di cultura" from just before the French Revolution to Italian Unification. Spanning a period of 100 years,, from just before the French Revolution (1789) to the Italian Unification (1861), my book looks at the multiple ways Italian women participated in and shaped their current cultural discourse, by facilitating the creation of social, cultural and political networks through their salon gatherings. Because of its roots in sociability, and the variety of 'characters' it focuses on, this project considers multiple aspects of culture from fashion, hospitality, art, tourism and music to the medical and experimental sciences, religion and politics. The book manuscript is grounded on Social Network Theory and considers aspects of celebrity culture, political theory, scientific dissemination, journalism and translation studies.