Florence

Shared social identities, a precondition of pre-modern urban communities at the threshold of modernity, necessitated the ceaseless readjustment of the built environment. The discursive practices of such city dwellers, therefore, speak volumes about how urban space and architectu…

Fear of and fascination with the Arab world and its civilization resulted in the production of a variety of works in medieval Europe in which Muslims found representation. This dissertation examines the perceptions and reception of the Arabs and their civilization as reflected i…