Maritime connectivity and cross-cultural interactions between Malta and Sicily during the Late Medieval period

Lecture by Dr Keith Buhagiar, Visiting Lecturer in Palaeochristian, Byzantine & Medieval Archaeology, University of Malta.
An excerpt in the 1154 Tabula Rogeriana by Al-Idrisi, published in Palermo, Sicily, mentions the medieval south-eastern Sicilian town of Scicli, its giardini (agricultural estates) engaged in fruit production and maritime links with Calabria, North Africa and Malta. This lecture will present ongoing research and will explore possible High and Late Medieval period cultural, architectural and artistic influences filtering into Malta due to its maritime connectivity with the south-east Sicilian coast. It will also attempt the identification of Scicli’s long lost Norman period harbour of Marsa Sciklah, the location of which has faded from popular memory.
Photo credit: Scicli Photo by Keith Buhagiar
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