Images of Desire in the Mediterranean World

Desire represents an experience that characterizes human beings as such, a force that dominates them in their innermost being. In this sense, it presents itself as a given of nature that comes before any reflection on it or attempt to discipline it. At the same time, the imaginary worlds created around desire, which have described its essence and pervasiveness, represent one of the most fascinating pages in the cultural history of human civilization. The medieval period contributed significantly to this cultural production, not only in terms of theological-philosophical reflection.
Following an interdisciplinary and transcultural approach, this volume proposes an investigation into the processes that contributed to building the cultural image of the phenomenon of desire. The focus is on the texts, the sociopolitical and intellectual contexts, and the actors involved in this cultural construction as it took shape within the Mediterranean basin in the centuries from late antiquity to the early modern age. In this geographical space, the great cultural traditions that marked the medieval era – Christian, Jewish, Arab – interacted with each other over centuries, creating a laboratory that has left a unique legacy to the modern world.
This interaction represents a fruitful field of investigation for understanding the history of medieval and early modern societies in terms of thought and on the social and institutional level.

Contributions of: Amos Bertolacci; Charles Burnett; Franco Cardini; Andrea Colli; Emanuele Colombo; Nicolangelo D’Acunto; Francesco Paolo de Ceglia; Costantino Esposito; Alessandra Gianni; Danielle Jacquart; Bruno Laurioux; Marina Massimi; Gert Melville; Marina Montesano; Antonio Musarra; Maria Giuseppina Muzzarelli; Agostino Paravicini Bagliani; Marco Rainini; Francesco Santi; Pietro Silanos; Francesca Sivo; Francesco Violante; Lidia L. Zanetti Domingues