The Mythical Mediterranean Sea
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
The Mythical Mediterranean Sea The Mythical Mediterranean Sea: Crossroads of Cultures, People, and Civilizations Edited by Nick Ceramella and Umberto Gori Introduction by Nick Ceramella The Mythical Mediterranean Sea: Crossroads of Cultures, People, and Civilizations Edited by Nick Ceramella and Umberto Gori This book first published 2019 Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2019 by Nick Ceramella, Umberto Gori and contributors All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-5275-3240-2 ISBN (13): 978-1-5275-3240-3 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures........................................................................................... vii Acknowledgements ................................................................................... ix Introduction ................................................................................................ 1 Nick Ceramella Section I: Literature The Mediterranean Sea: Inexhaustible Source of Inspiration for British Literature and Culture ............................................................................... 16 Nick Ceramella Gianni Clementi’s Finis Terrae: Shaping Transnational Subjectivities in the Mediterranean ................................................................................. 40 Stefano Muneroni Cultural Aspects of “Mare Nostrum”: Italy Seen through the Eyes of the Greek Poet Yannis Ritsos ............................................................... 53 Amanda Skamagka Sensuousness and Silence: Ungaretti and Camus—Comparing Two Mediterranean Authors ............................................................................. 68 Sara Moran Section II: History Writing Mediterranean History: From Geohistory to Floating Signifiers ... 86 William Boelhower Mediterranean Democracy and the United States During the Cold War: Italy’s 1976 Elections and the Citizens’ Alliance for Mediterranean Freedom .................................................................................................. 103 Stefano Luconi vi Table of Contents Coexistence and Clash: Convivencia and Pragmatic Pluralism in the Medieval Mediterranean ............................................................... 117 Mark T. Abate Negotiating Trade: Merchant Manuals and Cross-Cultural Exchange in the Medieval Mediterranean ............................................................... 153 Joseph F. Stanley Section III: Culture Nineteenth-Century Photography of the Mediterranean between Reality and Imagination .......................................................................... 170 Emanuela Sesti “Una faccia, una pancia?” Mediterranean Culinary Encounters in Contemporary Film ............................................................................ 185 Harry Kashdan “De Re Mediterranea” in Germany? Ludwig I and the Classical Reinvention of Munich, 1825 – 1848 ..................................................... 197 Jeffrey Gaab Changing Life Styles in Mediterranean Countries: Towards a Homogenization of Habits, Values and Cultures? ............................... 206 Sandra Nannini and Elena Radicchi Section IV: Identity The Mediterranean Identity of Montenegro ............................................ 216 Boris Vukićević Vast, Diverse and Equally Immutable: Sonic Notes on the Mediterranean .. 229 Antonio Pellegrino Identity Concept Within the Mediterranean Framework Operation, Mare Nostrum: Creating an Emerging Mediterranean Identity .............. 236 Jema Stellato Pledger Contributors ............................................................................................ 252 LIST OF FIGURES Front cover: Joppolo, Calabria, Mediterranean Shore (courtesy of Nick Ceramella, henceforth NC) Fig. 1: Rhodes Island (Greece) (courtesy of Francesco Santarelli) Fig. 2: Typical Mediterranean vegetation (Joppolo): olives, pines, oranges, tomatoes, chili peppers (courtesy of NC.) Fig. 3: Lord Byron’s Grotta at Porto Venere, Liguria (courtesy of Angela Nisi) Fig. 4: Firmo folkloristic group dancing a “tarantella” at Santa Sofia d’Epiro (courtesy of Italian professional photographer Lucio F. Masci, Laboratori della luce) Fig. 5: Shqiponjat, folkloristic group from Santa Sofia d’Epiro, dancing “vallje” in their own town (courtesy of Lucio F. Masci) Fig. 6: “Vlora” cargo docking at port of Bari in 1991 (source: https://www.google.com/search?q=“Vlora”+cargo+docking+at+port+o f+Bari+in+1991&safe=active&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=fUT opW5AUUSr5M%253A%252c. ) Fig. 7: Strait of Messina, Calabria seen from Sicily (courtesy of Australian professional photographer Bruno Cannatelli). Fig. 8: Greek Theatre in Taormina and Etna in the background (courtesy of Bruno Cannatelli) Fig. 9: Myrtos Beach, Cephalonia Island, Greece (courtesy of Ilaria D’Arco) Fig. 10: Finis Terrae theatre production (courtesy of Tommaso Le Pera) Fig. 11: Finis Terrae theatre production (courtesy of Tommaso Le Pera) Fig. 12: Finis Terrae theatre production (courtesy of Tommaso Le Pera) Fig. 13: Selinunete (one of the 5 temples), the largest archeological park in Europe, on the south western coast of Sicily (courtesy of Francesco Santarelli) Fig. 14: Body of a Syrian child on a Turkish beach. Fig. 15: Body of a Syrian child picked up by a soldier on a Turkish beach Fig. 16: Boat-load of refugees and migrants Fig. 17: Main Migration Routes Fig. 18: Tel Aviv Beach, 29 December 2017 (courtesy of NC) Fig. 19: Boka Kotorska, Montenegran Coast (courtesy of Aleksandra Baniević) viii List of Figures The images above have been gathered by Nick Ceramella, except for Figures 10-12 and 14-17 which have been provided by Stefano Muneroni and William Boelhower. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This volume brings together a selection of essays from the 7th Annual Conference co-organised by Florence University of the Arts and Stony Brook University (SUNY), and supported also by UNIMED, the Mediterranean Universities Union. The conference – “De Re Mediterranea” – was held at Palazzo Bombicci Guicciardini Strozzi in Florence on 4-5 December 2015. As is always the case with our Conferences at FUA, the speakers came from different nations, including Australia, Canada, France, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, and the USA. On the first day, the plenary session was held at Palazzo Strozzi before the President of Regional Council of Tuscany, Eugenio Giani, the President of the Fifth Commission of the Florence City Council, Maria Federica Giuliani, the President of FUA Gabriella Ganugi, the former FUA Provost James Lynch, and Professor Mario Mignone Stony Brook University Conference Coordinator. The keynote speaker was Robert A. Saunders of Farmingdale State College who gave a brilliant speech, “Mapping the Mediterranean: Imagining Mare Nostrum from the Papyrian Past to the Geovisual Present,” providing an extremely interesting overview of the evolution of maps and mapping technologies associated with the Mediterranean Basin from antiquity through the contemporary era. I would like to thank all the above and everyone at Florence University of the Arts, without whose help this event would not have taken place, and express my appreciation to Nick Ceramella for his inexhaustible believe in this project and for offering his expertise in shaping up this book and co- editing the volume. My deepest gratitude goes to FUA President Gabriella Ganugi and Professor Mario Mignone for their continued support to our yearly conference. Ultimately, given the high number of papers presented at the conference, it goes without saying that not all of them could be included in this volume. It can be said, however, that all the participants’ contributions have been most valued and that this conference too has continued to build upon the success on the earlier ones and has proved to be equally stimulating. Firenze 18 January 2019 FUA Conference Coordinator Umberto Gori INTRODUCTION NICK CERAMELLA Fig. 1: Rhodes Island (Greece). The essays making up this collection This volume is the outcome of a selection of papers presented by a gathering of international scholars, who explored the many connections that define the Mediterranean Sea as a symbol of tradition and modernity, and examined it as a region capable of congregating, synergizing and transforming cultures. Their writings focus on the relationship between the cultural, social, and historical environment of Mare Nostrum to pinpoint the elements defining its identity. Therefore, particular emphasis is placed on the role and 2 Introduction relevance of the Mediterranean as the first beacon of multi-ethnicity which may be seen as a symbol of diversity and unity as well as a model that holds clues to understanding the global merging of cultures. All the more reason it is a real shame to see that the general interest in this unique area, known worldwide for its culture, climate, healthy food, and tolerance, has arisen not only thanks to such highly positive features but also because, as Pope Francis says, the Mediterranean has become an open-air cemetery where thousands of people keep drowning.1 The essays in this book deal with most of the above and have been divided into four sections, covering the following thematic areas: Literature,