Harmonizing Sources, Reframing Narratives

4-5 December 2025 | Palermo, via degli Schioppettieri 25

On 4 and 5 December 2025, at the Giorgio La Pira Library in via degli Schioppettieri 25 (PA), FSCIRE organized the international seminar Harmonizing Sources, Reframing Narratives: Islamic Sicily in the Mediterranean Context, which is dedicated to the study of Islamic Sicily in the medieval Mediterranean, exploring Arabic sources and historical narratives to highlight Sicily’s role as a point of contact between North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, and southern Italy.

On Thursday, 4 December (9:00–18:15), the seminar will open with institutional welcome addresses.

The morning will continue with the first session, chaired by Ivana Panzeca (University of Palermo/FSCIRE), focused on Arabic documents from Sicily, parabolic traditions and local forms of piety in the eleventh century, and Andalusī narratives about Sicily.
In the afternoon, the second session, chaired by Francesco Cargnelutti (FSCIRE), will center on networks of power and devotion between Sicily and Fatimid Egypt, as well as the circulation and reception of Sicilian works within the Ismaili framework.
The day will end with a general discussion and a guided tour of the library.

On Friday, 5 December (9:00–15:30), the final session, chaired by Giacomo Favaretto (FSCIRE), will be dedicated to Fatimid relations with Ifrīqiya, Sicily, and Spain after their settlement in Egypt, Muslim jurisprudence in medieval Sicily, Islamic military expeditions from Sicily to mainland Italy in the ninth century, and the transformations of Fatimid elites during periods of transition.

It will also be possible to attend the seminar remotely, via webinar, through Zoom, at the following link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82432278260?pwd=21hfiqDWLbUGV5VJO6a826eTC99hxd.1

For further information: segreteria@fscire.it