Situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, Sicily in the early Middle Ages was the scene of dense political-military, religious, socio-economic and cultural entanglements. It was an obligatory point of reference for those who, like the court of Constantinople, the barbarian rulers, the Muslims or the Roman Church, wished to extend or consolidate their dominion not only in Italy but also on the Mediterranean chessboard. From 535, when the island was conquered by the Ostrogoths, until 827, when the Saracen invasion began, Sicily remained Byzantine. The Lombards did not penetrate and their project of expansion, according to Paul the Deacon, remained confined to the peninsula. However, the echoes of the Lombard invasion were many, confirming that the Straits of Sicily and Charybdis united before dividing their shores. The International Study Days, promoted by the Centre for Longobard Studies and the Universities of Catania, Basilicata, Campania, Milan, Salerno and Cattolica, will focus on these events at a time when the island's history seems more complex and less studied. Through a discussion of the main historiographical themes, this dense volume examines the events that led to the break-up of the centuries-old political unity of the peninsula, with the crisis of the Byzantine Empire and the appearance of new protagonists on the European scene: the Lombards and the Arabs.
Posta al centro del Mediterraneo, nell’alto medioevo la Sicilia fu teatro di fitti intrecci politico-militari, religiosi, socioeconomici e culturali. Riferimento obbligato per chi, come la corte di Costantinopoli, i sovrani barbarici, i musulmani o la Chiesa romana, mirava non solo a estendere o consolidare il dominio in Italia, ma anche nello scacchiere mediterraneo. Dal 535, anno in cui l’isola fu sottratta agli ostrogoti, all’827, quando iniziò l’invasione saracena, la Sicilia rimase bizantina. I longobardi non vi penetrarono e il loro progetto espansivo, secondo Paolo Diacono, rimase circoscritto alla penisola. Gli echi dell’invasione longobarda, tuttavia, furono tanti, a conferma che lo Stretto tra Sicilia e Cariddi univa prima ancora di dividere le sue sponde. Le giornate internazionali di studio, promosse dal Centro studi longobardi e dagli Atenei di Catania, Basilicata, Campania, Milano, Salerno e Cattolica, affrontano queste vicende in un periodo in cui la storia insulare pare più complessa e meno indagata. Nel denso volume, infatti, attraverso la discussione di nodali temi storiografici, si indagano gli eventi che portarono alla rottura della secolare unità politica della penisola con la crisi dell’impero bizantino e l’apparire di nuovi protagonisti sulla scena europea: i longobardi e gli arabi.
La Sicilia nei secoli VI-X. Dinamiche di poteri e culture tra Oriente e Occidente. In onore di Carmelina Urso
Emanuele Piazza
2023-01-01
Abstract
Situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, Sicily in the early Middle Ages was the scene of dense political-military, religious, socio-economic and cultural entanglements. It was an obligatory point of reference for those who, like the court of Constantinople, the barbarian rulers, the Muslims or the Roman Church, wished to extend or consolidate their dominion not only in Italy but also on the Mediterranean chessboard. From 535, when the island was conquered by the Ostrogoths, until 827, when the Saracen invasion began, Sicily remained Byzantine. The Lombards did not penetrate and their project of expansion, according to Paul the Deacon, remained confined to the peninsula. However, the echoes of the Lombard invasion were many, confirming that the Straits of Sicily and Charybdis united before dividing their shores. The International Study Days, promoted by the Centre for Longobard Studies and the Universities of Catania, Basilicata, Campania, Milan, Salerno and Cattolica, will focus on these events at a time when the island's history seems more complex and less studied. Through a discussion of the main historiographical themes, this dense volume examines the events that led to the break-up of the centuries-old political unity of the peninsula, with the crisis of the Byzantine Empire and the appearance of new protagonists on the European scene: the Lombards and the Arabs.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.