Beyond the Sea: Naples and the Ottoman Empire at the Crossroads of Art and Diplomacy

The interactions between Naples—long the principal center of the various political entities governing Southern Italy—and the Ottoman Empire have, until recently, received limited scholarly attention. However, a growing body of research is beginning to uncover the multifaceted ties that connected these two geographically proximate and politically, economically, and culturally significant Mediterranean powers. These studies reveal a dense network of diplomatic, commercial, and cultural relations that challenges earlier assumptions of distance and antagonism.

This seminar will explore the cultural dimensions of the relationship between Naples and the Ottoman Empire, focusing on artistic production following the Capitulations of 1740. Central to this inquiry is the diplomatic mission to Naples in the late summer of 1741 by Hacı Hüseyin Efendi, the special envoy of Sultan Mahmud I to King Carlo di Borbone. By examining the artistic and material outcomes of this diplomatic exchange, this seminar will shed light on the mechanisms of cultural transfer and the ways in which political diplomacy fostered artistic interaction and mutual representation across the Mediterranean divide.

Rosita D’Amora is an associate professor of Turkish Studies at Sapienza University of Rome. Her research addresses issues related to different forms of representation and auto-representation of Ottoman and Turkish society. She has focused on the cultural exchange and interconnections between Southern Italy and the Ottoman Empire starting from the 17th century and the analysis of the Ottoman politics of masculine headgear, and the turban in particular. Lately she has also been working on the role of cultural cross-boundary mediators, the networks of translators and the circulation of translations and ideas in the Mediterranean starting from the second half of the 19th century.

It will be possible to follow the event also ONLINE on our VIMEO CHANNEL: https://vimeo.com/event/5208735

Scientific Organization: Alev Berberoğlu