Mary Laven
(Professor of Early Modern History, Cambridge University), Principal Investigator
Mary’s work is grounded in the social and cultural history of early modern Italy and Europe, and she has particular interests in religion, gender, sociability, and material culture. She is responsible for the Creative Encounters strand of the project, which focuses on people and their creative engagement with the material world. This strand will establish and analyse a new body of sources for understanding how interactions between people of different ethnic origin fuelled the cultural vibrancy for which the Renaissance is famed.
Emily Michelson
(Professor of History, University of St Andrews), Co-Investigator
Emily is a cultural historian of religion in early modern Italy, with a special focus on religious minorities, diversity and encounter, and a growing interest in mobility and walking. She is responsible for the Spaces of Encounter strand of the project, which focuses on spaces as a means of uncovering the interconnections between minority groups, and investigates the myriad moments in which outsiders from different groupings collaborated, competed, communicated and clashed in ways that shaped the culture of the Renaissance.
Federica Gigante
(Research Associate, University of Cambridge)
Federica is a historian of the early modern Mediterranean with a particular interest in the circulation of knowledge and material culture between the Islamic world and Italy. She is responsible for the Objects of Encounter strand of the project, which focuses on objects either produced by minority groups or embodying diversity in their materials, designs, technologies and labour imported from elsewhere. In particular, her research concentrates on the role of Muslim galley slaves in the importation of artistic, material and technological knowledge to Italy.
Alexandros Hatzikiriakos
(Research Associate, University of St Andrews)
Alexandros is a cultural historian of sound, specialising in the medieval and early modern Mediterranean. His research lies at the intersection of auditory history, literary studies, and material culture. He is also responsible for the Textual Encounters strand of the project, which focuses on the written traces that illuminate the cultural diversity of early modern Italy. Through a comparative analysis of printed and manuscript sources and their circulation, as well as an examination of the technologies and materials used in their production, this strand aims to reassess traditional approaches to the learned Renaissance.
