"Vulnerable Italy": between academic debate and a multitude of social and political actors

The article is an introduction to a special issue of "Sociologia Urbana e Rurale" whose aim is to present a significant overview of Italian sociology of disaster. In order to better frame the contents of the issue, the article starts with a short reconstruction of the sociological reflection on the topic, putting it in relation to the changes that took place in Italian intervention strategies in the event of a calamity. Eventually the article highlights how a territorial approach could stress both the specific character of each context affected by catastrophes and the peculiar composition of the different forms of capital on it. In doing so, the latest seismic events that it central Italy in 2016 are considered in the analysis.