MIGROPOLIS · Renaissance Migropolis: Mobility, Migration and the Politics of Reception in Venice (ca. 1450-1650)

Renaissance Migropolis: Mobility, Migration and the Politics of Reception in Venice (ca. 1450-1650)

The Marie Skłowdowska-Curie project MIGROPOLIS aimed to shed new light on the historical impact of migration and mobility on European cities and their inhabitants as well as providing fresh insights into the experiences of migrants themselves. It did this by focusing on the case study of Renaissance Venice, one of the most dynamic and cosmopolitan cities in European history, and one whose long experience of grappling with the challenges and benefits of migration gives it unique heuristic value. The project’s principal research objectives were achieved with only minor deviations, and communicated in various tangible ways both to specialist and wider audiences. A primary objective was to trace the development of the Venetian government’s nascent migration “policy” between 1450-1650; a crucial period when the city’s population, as well as its economic, political and cultural power reached their zenith, but also a time when war, food shortages, epidemic disease and religious schism made the movement of people an acutely controversial issue. Beyond this, the project sought to assess the impact of mobility at street level, on the evolution of the urban fabric, the lives of settled residents and of new arrivals. In particular, the researcher investigated the “infrastructure of hospitality” that crystallized in this period to host migrants and visitors who disembarked in the city. She showed how inns and lodging houses especially functioned as crucial points of orientation into urban life and important places of encounter between newcomers, local inhabitants and authorities. The project also entailed various training objectives designed to establish the researcher as a leading scholar in the history of mobility in Europe, which were successfully completed. In particular, the researcher enhanced her capacity to communicate her research to a broad audience and inform contemporary debates about migration with a valuable historical perspective, which she achieved also thanks to the accomplishment of several planned Public Engagement Activities.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union