Friends of the Uffizi - Sicily and the Normans: Multiculturalism in a Medieval Kingdom

Before William of Normandy invaded England in 1066 and claimed his throne, other Normans had successfully crossed Europe into the Italian peninsula and created their own state in the south. Descendants of the Vikings, the Normans conquered southern Italy and Sicily establishing a kingdom that would last over seven hundred years. From the 11th to the 13th century, the Norman Kingdom of Sicily with its capital in Palermo, thrived as a sophisticated, cosmopolitan, tolerant center of culture. The Normans magnificently blended the ancient Greek, Byzantine, Arab, and Christian cultures into one of the most successful experiments of “a melting pot.” Dr. Castellani Koch brings to life the magnificent saga of the Normans as they encountered the complex antiquity of the Mediterranean worlds and became the leaders of a new fusion of cultures that still exists today.

Giuliana Castellani Koch, who holds a doctorate from the University of Florence in Contemporary Italian and Comparative Literature, has taught Italian Literature, Language, and Culture at several US universities and cultural venues. An expert in Italian culture, she has published work on Nobel Prize winner in Literature Eugenio Montale. Residing in Palm Beach with her husband, John, she serves on the board of the Society of the Four Arts.