Italy and the Mediterranean

Sicily, Venice, and Rome were Medieval and Renaissance international centers whose populations of pilgrims, traders, soldiers, and diplomats occasioned opportunities for cultural cooperation and violence between East and West. We will study mosaics and architecture of the multi-ethnic Norman rule following the Islamic conquest of Sicily; Venetian relations with the Ottoman Empire and its Greek colonies in goods, painting styles, architecture and atlases; and in Rome obsessions with Egyptian engineering, the vitality of Arabic studies, and reports of travelers resulting from papal efforts to incorporate Eastern Christians under the umbrella of the Roman church. Enrollment limited to 20 juniors and seniors.