Italy and the Islamic World: 1300–1700

Italy and the Islamic world may conjure up ideas of hostility and confrontation. The reality, however, is far more complex. The Venetian ambassador to the Ottomans wrote in 1553 ‘Being merchants, we cannot live without them’. Glassblowers on Murano were producing mosque lamps while carpets made in Anatolia were gracing the sanctuaries of churches. Pseudo Arabic script adorned the haloes in paintings of the Virgin Mary and the Ottoman sultan’s image was immortalised by Gentile Bellini. This is a story of trade and diplomacy that highlights the connectivity of the Mediterranean and beyond. We will explore a variety of Italian states and their trading partners: the Mamluks, the Ottomans and the Safavids. We will examine the kinds of goods entering Italy from different regions of the Islamic world and trace their presence and reception through their appearance in Italian paintings. These goods were highly esteemed and we will see the major impact that they had on Italian decorative arts. This course offers a unique perspective on this interaction by engaging both with Italian art and that of its neighbours in the Islamic World.