The aim of this project was to enrich the knowledge and comprehension of the history and culture of Mediterranean countries during the late Middle Ages beyond the state-of-the-art, from the analysis of the artistic exchanges between different societies and territories through the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and the HBDS methodology. For that purpose, we have selected certain elements of Islamic art, developed by the Almoravids during the 12th century, which can be related to other manifestations produced by different Mediterranean societies (Islamic and non-Islamic ones) due to existing commercial, political and cultural relations.
In this context, the objectives established for this project were:
1.- To measure the presence of the pre-selected elements in the main artistic manifestations of the Islamic and Christian Mediterranean countries in the late Middle Ages;
2.- To apply the new method based on the GIS, through the creation of three databases for studying the exchanges between the main Mediterranean artistic manifestations and Almoravid art;
3.- To assess the relation of religion and power with the artistic productions of the Islamic countries in the Mediterranean frame;
4.- To review the concepts of centre and peripheries regarding the artistic production in the Mediterranean context.
To achieve all these objectives, the fellow has extracted the data from the historiography, Arab and Latin written sources, the artistic and architectural remains in different Mediterranean countries and the artistic funds of the main museum collections. The results of the research have been included in 3 different databases (each one related to one of the pre-selected artistic elements) and several scientific and outreach publications. These results have been presented in different scientific and outreach activities organized in the framework of the project in Portugal, Spain and France, with a great number of participants, as well as spread in important International Conferences, held in UK, USA, Spain and Portugal. On the other hand, to disseminate all the information related to the project, a website has been created by the beneficiary.
The importance of this project lies in the revision of concepts, the improvement of the knowledge of societies that lived simultaneously in a given territory through the study of their culture and thought, and the introduction of an innovative method for the Art History research, based on the GIS. Concerning the first aspects, due to the current relationship between the Islamic world and the West, the knowledge and comprehension of the history and culture of Islamic countries are the first steps for creating a sustainable relationship pattern between these countries and European ones. Within this frame, the results of the project, above all the implementation of the different databases, have contributed to the development of the research on Islamic art and architecture, and they have provided a better knowledge of the history, the culture and exchanges of the Mediterranean area during the late Middle Ages. On the other hand, concerning the application of an innovative method for the Art History research based on the GIS has contributed to the renewal of the traditional methods of study of this field, thanks to the successful GIS courses held in Portugal and Spain in the framework of the project.
In summary, we can conclude that the development of the action has been highly satisfactory and successful, because all the objectives and the expected results have been achieved, the activities linked to the project have had a great success with a high number of participants and the number of scientific and outreach publications linked to the project is higher than expected.
