This course highlights the complex relationship between Venice and its Greek colonies in the Eastern Mediterranean (Stato da Mar) during the Middle Ages and early modern period.
We will focuse on the exchange and transfer of cultural forms to and from the metropolis. The exchange between Venice, Byzantium (i.e. the Eastern Roman Empire) and local traditions in various Greek-speaking regions of the Mediterranean (with a focus on the island of Crete) will be discussed. Finally, the course considers Venice's relationship with the Byzantine Empire, the competing maritime republics of Genoa and Pisa, and its possessions on the Italian peninsula (Terraferma). A range of legal, literary and artistic sources will be examined in order to shed light on all these aspects and to integrate this historical period into the study of the wider period of the European Middle Ages.
Registration for this OUC is no longer possible, as the registration deadline has passed.
This Open UvA Course is part of the Faculty of Humanities' public programme. Beside Open UvA Courses, the public programme also comprises special lectures and series of courses. The public programme is intended for alumni, employees looking for extra training, and all others who are interested in art, culture, philosophy, language and literature, history and religion.