An Unacknowledged Presence—Islam in the Italian Public Space: History, Reactions, Perspectives

Historical documentation of Muslim presence dates back to 652 AD. Later, Muslim domination of Sicily lasted for two centuries, even though Islamic influence lasted far longer, included during the Norman domination. Traces of Arab Muslims in costumes, arts and architecture, toponymy, language, etymologies, continue to permeate Sicilian culture. On the other side of the Italian peninsula Venice reveals a different relationship with Islam. Here we have a cosmopolitan city that was capable to forge a relationship with the Muslim world, influencing it and being influenced by it. Sicily and Venice show two different ways of influence: the former in terms of domination; the latter, as a place of contact, exchange, and reciprocal cultural permeability. Islam has also left its traces in more recent Italian history through the country’s colonial adventures and the attempts to build an Italian Empire, during the Fascist period. From the Eighties Islam has returned to Italy through peaceful means, as the unexpected consequence of different waves of immigration, that now include close to two million Muslims. The passage from a first generation of immigrants to a second generation of Italian Muslims is involving important transformations, that often produce reactions, conflicts and hermeneutic incidents.