Course 21 – Summer School on campus
Monday 14 – Friday 18 July 2025
Dr Andrea Mattiello
£645
Course description
From the transformation of the Roman Empire in the late third century CE to the European discovery of the Americas in the fifteenth century, Byzantium mattered, and its legacy still matters today. The socio-political entity that developed from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 by Constantine the Great and ended with Constantine XI in 1453 is central to the history of the Eurasian and African continents and determined their societies, religions, cultures.
This course will journey through different eras, regions, and artefacts of the Byzantine Empire to chart and highlight the achievements and importance of its rich artistic production. After introducing the timeline of the Byzantine Empire, this course will examine the visual and material culture pertaining to diverse social and religious agents linked to the East Roman Empire. The course will discuss major Byzantine architectural landmarks, from the early Christianisation of the Mediterranean to the Ottoman conquest – in cities like Rome, Ravenna, Jerusalem, Constantinople, Thessaloniki, Venice and Mystras – through a range of media: mosaic and frescoed cycles in monumental art; the authority and veneration of icons; the production and use of ivories; works in precious stone and metal; manuscripts and their illumination; and the objects of everyday life including fashion and jewellery. The course will address Byzantine visual culture in relation to eastern and western polities and will also consider the agency of known historical agents and less regarded individuals, with a particular focus on women in Byzantine society. The course will include visits to relevant museums and collections such as the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the National Gallery.
Lecturer's biography
Dr Andrea Mattiello holds a PhD in Byzantine Art History from the University of Birmingham, and a PhD in History and Theory of Performance Art from the School for Advanced Studies in Venice. He has published and lectured on medieval, modern and contemporary art, photography and architecture, queer art in antiquity, female agency in Byzantium, and Greek-Italian humanism. Alongside his research fellowships, he has lectured at institutions including Università IUAV of Venice, Christie’s Education London, Università di Salerno, and NABA Milan. He co-edited the volume Late Byzantium Reconsidered: The Arts of the Palaiologan Era in the Mediterranean and is researching on notable women linked to late Palaiologan Byzantine world. He currently conducts research at Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei in Milan.