Abstract
The project aims at investigating an aspect of Byzantine diplomacy consisting of thirty-three Greek acts issued by the Byzantine emperors in favour of the cities of Venice, Genoa, Pisa, Ancona, and Florence. They date from the mid-12th to the mid-15th century. These documents are presently available to scholars only in old nineteenth-century editions, which offer neither a translation nor any support for their understanding. Moreover, they have so far been studied mostly from an economic perspective or for the ‘positive’ information they provide on political history. The present project, on the contrary, aims at studying this legacy under its aspect of cultural and social memory as well as at providing a fresh edition of it, with translation and commentary. The new edition will be prepared both in printed and in digital version, in the latter case benefiting from the tools now available in the field of digital humanities. The value of the acts as historical source mirroring the identity traits of the political powers involved in the negotiation activity will be emphasised. As far as Byzantium is concerned, the project will clearly demonstrate the modernity of its way of promoting forms of international relationships that today we would call ‘cultural diplomacy’. Finally, the proposal aims at raising awareness in the general public of the importance of this Greek medieval legacy for the history of western Europe as well as the importance of state archives in preserving and enhancing our cultural heritage.
Project details
Unibo Team Leader: Salvatore Cosentino
Unibo involved Department/s:
Dipartimento di Beni Culturali
Coordinator:
ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - Università di Bologna(Italy)
Total Eu Contribution: Euro (EUR) 201.904,00
Total Unibo Contribution: Euro (EUR) 73.104,00
Project Duration in months: 24
Start Date:
17/10/2023
End Date:
28/02/2026
