Making Assignment #3

Nicholas Martinez

10/27/15

Reading Response #3

During the beginning part of this program, we discussed the importance of the Mediterranean, the Ottoman Empire in particular, serving as a contact zone for many different cultures, ethnic backgrounds, and the religions of the empire. The material presented in the weeks classes and readings were able to validate this claim and it is interesting to discover the give-and-take relationship from the perspective of the Italians. Also, I think that it was important to talk about the Ottoman Empire in order to understand the other aspects of the Mediterranean.

            I enjoyed the Braudel’s description of the Mediterranean Sea, not only as an obstacle or barrier between lands, but also as a source of unity, transport, and a means of exchange and intercourse.  The way he described the Mediterranean itself as being formed through the movement of people really stood out to me, and I think showed very well how lives and identities in the region have historically been anything but static (201). He argues that lives and identities are fluid and that we should look into how this region was a melting pot of cultures and rituals.

            It is also important to note that large towns, which stood at crossroads, did not necessarily see growth. The crossroad simply created a change in route of transportation (228). Ultimately, large roads and the exchanges they permitted led to the gradual division of labor where cities distinguished themselves from the countryside. “The starting point of this process was commercial activity- in places like Venice, Seville, Genoa, Milan, and Marseilles in the 16^th century (229). When the division between country and city life was beginning, Venice established itself as an industrial port, regarded for banking while Genoa was regarded as the most sophisticated credit machinery of the middle Ages. By 1607 all “capitalist” activity was in the hands of Florentines who owned houses in the city and the Genoese who provided silver (Braudel 232) - between them, they controlled all exchanges.         

Yesterday, I attended the film screening of “La Grande Bellezza”. In this film, the main character, Jep, and his friends, who were part of the Roman elite, enjoyed giant parties, outrageous expositions of art, extensive meals, and the company of strippers. Yet as I watched this film, I realized that Jep was tired of his empty life and kept thinking of his past. Venetian renegades had done something similar. When they had tired of Constantinople, they moved back to Venice to rejoin their loved ones and reconverted. The lifestyle of Jep and his high class friends were much how the upper class Venetians lived. The way Venice is characterized here is comparable to the way life was portrayed in Rome in the film, “La Grande Bellezza.” “Venetian style meant fashionable people who listened to music, engaged in witty conversation, all with proper doses of theater, gambling, drinking, and fine dining” (Wright, 2000).

Finally, though I know there are differences between the Eastern and Western Mediterranean in terms of religion, art, architecture, and many other factors. It is fascinating to see how different the West and East, but made the attempt to co-mingle in the Ottoman Empire. Also, I want to investigate further how religion and nation seem to be intertwined, but at the same time nonexistent throughout these communities and how that affected the patrons of these cities.