ROMANESQUE AND THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN

PALERMO 16-18 APRIL 2012

The British Archaeological Association will hold the second of the
biennial International Romanesque conferences in Palermo on 16-18 April,
2012. The theme is Romanesque and the Eastern Mediterranean, and the aim
is to examine points of contact between the Latin West and the Byzantine
and Islamic worlds in the 11th and 12th centuries. These took many forms:
the widespread importation of artefacts, including textiles, ceramics,
ivories and metalwork, the recruitment of eastern painters and mosaicists,
and the emulation of eastern Mediterranean forms and buildings,
particularly those in Jerusalem. Crusading themes are likely to be
important, as are commercial and artistic contacts with the southern
Mediterranean, and the conference welcomes papers on interactions between
Islamic and Christian cultures in Spain and North Africa, as well as in
the eastern Mediterranean. Proposals for papers of up to 30 minutes in
length should be sent to the conference convenor, Rosa Bacile, at
rosa.baciletalk21.com. Decisions on acceptance will be made in early
2011.

The Conference will be held in the historic centre of Palermo from 16-18
April, with the opportunity to stay on for three days of visits to
medieval buildings in and around Palermo from 19-21 April.