V O R T R A G –vor Ort (SE 12)
Die, 8. April 2025, um 18 Uhr s. t.
Francesco Leanza (University of Catania)
Research carried out over the last twenty years has allowed us to contextualize Byzantine Sicily as an imperial frontier within the broader Mediterranean confrontation between Byzantium and Islam. From the old understanding of Sicily as a periphery of the Empire, it is now recognised for its centrality within the Mediterranean. Such a geographic position allowed it to become an important theatre for the Byzantine thalassocracy between the 8th and 10th centuries. The results of the PRIN project ‘The Byzantine Heritage of Southern Italy’ have contributed to developing our knowledge and opening new research questions and topics. Two specific areas of investigation are the Platani river valley and north-eastern Sicily. Here the archaeological research of the University of Catania allows us to trace the evolution of the conflict between Byzantium and Islam. In addition it provides the opportunity to assess changes in settlement patterns and the extent of thematic reforms in reshaping the late antique landscape. Such enduring legacy can still be traced in the subsequent medieval landscape.
