RiMe. Rivista dell'Istituto di Storia dell'Europa Mediterranea (ISSN 2035-794X)

“Opposition, seduction, realism”. At first glance, a striking triad that captures the multifaceted stance of the Italian powers towards the wider European sphere in the face of the Ottoman Empire. From antagonism to fascination, passing through that necessary realpolitik aimed at limiting the damage. Without neglecting the construction of a reality that is, perhaps, more complex than the protagonists of that era – starting with Pius II – would have us believe. In the introduction, Andrea Fara asks why Western historiography continues to portray the Ottoman world as an ‘intruder’, given its clear contribution to the shaping of Europe. Marco Di Branco’s contribution shows how the very concept of conquest of ancient Rome was present from the very beginnings of Islam. Relations between Byzantium and Italy are the focus of Daniele Bianconi’s contribution, in which he emphasises that the process of ‘translatio librorum’ and ‘studiorum hominumque’ had begun well before 1453; indeed, ‘studiorum hominumque’ had begun well before 1453. F or his part, Tobias Daniels discusses the papacy in detail, as well as the concept of the Crusades, which in the 15th century did not exist in the sense we understand it today. At the heart of Iulian Mihai Damian’s contribution lies the fifteen-year period preceding the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople and the distinctive role played by the Franciscans, whose initial aim – was to bring about a union between the Christian Churches. Still on the subject of the Franciscans, their network of intelligence appears to have been more extensive than that of an Order such as the Knights of Rhodes, which was directly involved in the fight against the Turks – a subject to which Giuseppe Perta’s article is devoted. Filippo Vaccaro, on the other hand, examines the centuries-old rivalry between the two maritime and financial powers of Genoa and Venice, which flared up on several occasions, as demonstrated by the ‘information war’ – or ‘fake news’, as we would call it today – waged by both sides during the Crusade of Varna. The attempt to capitalise on the geopolitical upheaval in the East is not without its critics. The papacy is the target of anti-crusade propaganda, some of it more genuine than others. This, too, is linked to a variety of motives. From this perspective, the case of the Morbosani Epistle, analysed by Cristian Caselli, is a prime example Simone Lombardo examines how Genoa and Venice selected and gathered information, wondering through which channels it was transmitted to Genoa and how quickly. These were important issues that influenced the decision-making process. It was not just Genoa and Venice, however. Florence also played an important role in relations between the Italian Peninsula and the Byzantine-Ottoman East, and Andrea Raffaele Aquino focuses on this, examining the letters of Florentine informants between 1453 and 1470. Whilst the establishment of an espionage network, operating alongside the diplomatic service, is seen as a key stage in the development of the ‘modern state’, it is equally true that attitudes towards this development have fluctuated. However, such a composite system would not have been possible without a Florentine presence in the Levant, as Eleonora Plebani argues in her discussion of Pera. The volume concludes with a final essay in which Antonio Musarra skilfully weaves together the essays and all their themes.