Course Content (Syllabus)
The course is a "journey" of art and culture in Byzantine Italy, i.e. those parts of the Italian peninsula under the control of the Byzantine empire after 476 and in those Italian areas that were directly or indirectly influenced by the cultural heritage and the artistic production of Byzantium. In particular, the class will examine the monuments and the artistic treasures that the Byzantines left behind in various parts of the Italian peninsula where they remained dominant in different regions for more than five centuries (535-1071), they fertilized the local traditions with the Greek spirit and contributed in the long term to the cultural and artistic fermentations that led - long after the end of their rulership - to Humanism and Renaissance. The last part of the course studies the radiance and influence of Byzantine art in the artistic production of the workshops that operated in the Italian cities between 13th and 14th centuries, as detected in the works of important artists and workshops of the Proto-Renaissance (maniera greca) and Early Renaissance in Italy.
The content of the course is structured in the following 13 teaching units:
1. Historical overview of the Byzantine domination in the Italian peninsula (535-1071): The Byzantine Exarchate of Italy (6th-8th century). - Byzantine Southern Italy (9th-11th century).
2. The artistic production in the parts of Italy under the dominion of the Byzantines (6th -11th century). - The radiance of Byzantine art in Italy during the 12th and 13th centuries (introduction).
3. The Early Christian monuments of Northern Italy (Aquileia, Grado, Venice, Milan).
4. The Early Christian monuments of Ravenna.
5. The Early Christian monuments of Rome.
6. Influences of the Byzantine tradition on the medieval art of Rome and central Italy.
7. The monuments in Southern Italy (Naples, Matera, Calabria, Puglia-Salento), Sicily (Syracuse, Messina, Palermo) and Sardegna (Cagliari).
8. Byzantine painting in Southern Italy and Sicily after the 11th c.
9. Influences of the Byzantine artistic tradition on monuments in Venice (Saint Mark) and other islands of the lagoon (Murano, Torcello).
Keywords
Byzantine art, Byzantine culture, Byzantium and Italy, Maniera greca, Early Renaissance
Additional bibliography for study
M. BONFIOLI, Bisanzio e l’Italia. Scritti di archeologia e storia dell’arte, Roma 2002.
G. CAVALLO, V. von FALKENHAUSEN, R. FARIOLI CAMPANATI, M. GIGANTE, V. PACE, F. PANVINI ROSATI (ed.), I Bizantini in Italia, Milano 1982.
A. CHASTEL, L’Italie et Byzance, Paris 1999.
S. COSENTINO, Storia dell'Italia bizantina (VI-XI secolo). Da Giustiniano ai Normanni, Bologna 2008.
S. COSENTINO (ed.), A Companion to Byzantine Italy [Brill's Companions to the Byzantine World 8], Leiden 2021.
G. DIMITROKALLIS, Contribution à l’étude des monuments byzantins et médiévaux d’Italie, Athènes 1971.
Φ. ΚΑΪΜΑΚΗ, Η Ελλάδα του Σαλέντο, Αθήνα 2008.
Τ. ΛΟΥΓΓΗΣ, Η βυζαντινή κυριαρχία στην Ιταλία, Αθήνα 1989.
G. RAVEGNANI, I Bizantini in Italia, Bologna 2004.
G. RAVEGNANI, Andare per l’Italia bizantina, Bologna 2016.