INVITATION TO THE SEMINAR SERIES
BEYOND DISCIPLINARY BARRIERS
ISMed as a research laboratory

Mediterranean privateer

Presentation and discussion based on
Giovanna Fiume, Mediterraneo corsaro.
Storie di schiavi, pirati e rinnegati in età moderna
(Carocci editore, Rome 2025)

January 29, 2026 – 10:00 a.m.

CNR-ISMed
Humanities Centre (6th floor)
Via Cardinale Guglielmo Sanfelice 8
Naples

REMOTE ACCESS
on the Teams platform

Poster

The Mediterranean between the 16th and 19th centuries is described as a space of intense circulation of people and goods, marked by political, military and economic conflicts and religious antagonisms. The ambitions of states and empires, particularly Spain and the Ottoman Empire, transformed the sea into a theatre of war, generating captivity and slavery.

The ransom system activated complex financial, information and mediation networks, involving institutions, merchants and families. To escape slavery, many individuals resorted to religious conversion, raising questions of identity, dissimulation and freedom of faith.

From a perspective inspired by global history and contemporary migration, the book reconstructs the trajectories of men and women on the move, capable of adapting and redefining their lives in a Mediterranean frontier.

THE SPEAKER. Giovanna Fiume was a full professor of Modern History at the University of Palermo. She has published: Il Santo Moro. I processi di canonizzazione di Benedetto da Palermo (1594-1807) (Milan 2008²); Mariti e pidocchi. Storia di un processo e di un aceto miracoloso (Rome 2008²); Schiavitù mediterranee. Corsari, rinnegati e santi di età moderna (Milan 2009); La cacciata dei moriscos e la beatificazione di Juan de Ribera (Brescia 2014); Storia del Santo Uffizio in Sicilia e delle sue carceri (Rome 2021).

PROGRAMME

INSTITUTIONAL GREETINGS
Gabriella Corona
Director of CNR-ISMed

DISCUSSION
Valerio Caruso
Donato Di Sanzo
Giovanni Lombardi
CNR-ISMed

THE AUTHOR SPEAKS
Giovanna Fiume

FINAL DISCUSSION

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
Gabriella Corona, Claudia Di Somma (CNR-ISMed)

INFO AND CONTACTS
segreteria.direzione@ismed.cnr.it

HOW TO PARTICIPATE
The seminar is open to the public, subject to availability.
It is possible to participate remotely via the Teams platform.