David Salomoni's book is one of the latest additions to Brill's History of Early Modern Educational Thought series. Structured in five chapters, the book's ambition is to provide an overview of the process that led to the establishment and development of schools run by a series of female and male orders from the early sixteenth century to the early nineteenth century in the Italian peninsula. In the introduction the author sets the agenda by declaring how the existing history has largely – and probably excessively – focused on the colleges and the pedagogical system developed by the Jesuits.

The first chapter seeks to examine the roots of this educational process by demonstrating how the early decades of the sixteenth century were a crucial watershed between the lay system developed during the Renaissance and that which would develop in the aftermath of the Council of Trent. This chapter brings the reader into the communal educational system developed in the main Italian cities during the Renaissance. It highlights how the historiography has paid greater attention to the schools established in the northern and central part of the Italian peninsula – particularly in Tuscany – and has largely ignored the educational institutions of the south and of Sicily and Sardinia too. The second chapter focuses on the pedagogical identity of the new educational system developed by the religious orders between the sixteenth and the seventeenth century. The author focuses on the thorny issue faced by some of the ‘new’ orders – such as the Barnabites, Capuchins and Somascans – who feared that an excess of education would push their new entrants to develop overtly independent thinking, thus being at risk of heresy.

The third chapter deepens the process which resulted in to the development of religious schools in the Italian peninsula as well as in other parts of Europe. By making use of a remarkable range of secondary literature, the chapter charts the geographical distribution of religious schools in the different Italian regions. The focus is mainly on the efforts made by the Barnabites, Somascans and Theatines and how these orders succeeded in implementing their educational strategies through a network of key figures. The fourth chapter examines the types of schools founded by the religious orders and the extent of their capacity to cooperate with local authorities in various parts of the peninsula. A telling example is provided by the case study of the Barnabite schools established in Udine. The author vividly reconstructs the lengthy and difficult trials experienced by this order which faced many obstacles which seriously hampered their plans to set up an educational system in that area.

The last chapter focuses on what can defined as the winding road of the religious educational process begun in the sixteenth century. Indeed, the author explains how and to what extent some of the orders involved in the educational process became embroiled in the harsh cultural and political disputes which unfolded between the Scientific Revolution of the late seventeenth century and the outbreak of the revolutions at the end of the eighteenth. By bringing to the fore some of the most prominent figures of the orders examined in the book, the chapter illustrates the challenges and deep transformations faced by the religious educational system during a crucial period.

Though its scope is ambitious and its timeframe extended, Salomoni's book has some gaps. Above all is the absence of the Roman perspective, that is, how the main authorities of the Holy See viewed and reacted to this complex educational process. As it stands, the book provides but a single perspective, linked to the inner dynamics of the religious orders, while it should be essential to integrate the point of view of the Roman congregations. The second – albeit minor – point is on how the primary sources are cited in the bibliography, which simply limits itself to a list of the archives consulted but not of the specific holdings. These shortcomings are offset by the fact this book must considered an overview, an indication of the direction of future and more in-depth research. The capacity of Salomoni to marshal such a consistent literature and his effective writing-style demonstrate that this young scholar is well equipped to embark on this project. Furthermore, publication in a well-known series by a prominent academic publisher indicates that the author has all the necessary skills for moving to the next stage.