One of the most outstanding riches of the lands we stand on is the history and cultural heritage left to us by the Byzantine Empire, scientifically referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire. Istanbul, home to the capital of the Ottoman Empire, was at first the capital of Byzantium, and for both empires, it served as an important cultural, economic, political, and social center. It is of utmost delight that Byzantine studies in Turkey, which started off with a focus on the architectural and archeological heritage of Istanbul, gained momentum with the work of academics researching the history of this venerable empire and the traces of heritage it left in different regions of Turkey. With the advancement in the field, which continued with the efforts of new researchers, who have the necessary language skills, knowledge on the sources, and the support of newly established research centers and museum. Turkey now holds a critical place in the field of Byzantine studies.
As an early career researcher working on Byzantine history and architecture, I had the opportunity to attend the 24th International Congress of Byzantine Studies (ICBS) held in Venice and Padua between August 22 and 27 and give a presentation on my research in-person (figs. 1–4).
Figure 1. Sunset over Venice.
Figure 2. Historic buildings along the Grand Canal, Venice. .
Figure 3. Typical alleyways of the city
Figure 4. The historical La Fenice Theater of Venice, where the inaugural speeches took place on the first day of congress.
The congress is held every five years and is comprised of numerous presentations of current research on Byzantium. From the US to Japan, people from all over the world attend both as presenters and as audience members interested in the subject. Approximately 1000 people attended the congress this year, which was originally planned to be held in Istanbul in 2021 with Turkey as the host country. Unfortunately, this event, the main theme of which was determined as “Byzantium – Bridge between Worlds,” which was eagerly expected to take place in Istanbul by all circles interested in Byzantine Empire, was postponed for a year due to the pandemic and was relocated from Istanbul to Venice and Padua.
This change caused disappointment both for students who study the subjects related to the congress and for scholars from Turkey as it hindered in-person participation. If it had been held in Istanbul, the congress would have benefited many people from Turkey, both in scholarly terms and in terms of the academic interaction it would have created. It became difficult to attend in-person due to temporal and financial reasons such as the grueling and long processes regarding passport and visa applications, and had an effect on the number of participants from Turkey. Despite all this, it was promising to see the participation of early-career researchers from Turkey in the congress, along with established scholars whose names and research are well known in the field of Byzantine studies.
Although the importance and historical standing of the city of Venice for Byzantium are well-known, it turns out that unless one actually sees the art and artifacts relocated from Constantinople to Venice, especially after the Fourth Crusade in the thirteenth century, with his/her own eyes, it is impossible to realistically imagine, neither the richness of the former capital of Byzantium nor the former glory, craftsmanship and artistic advancement of the Byzantine Empire before the Latin invasion (figs. 5–6).
Figure 5. St. Mark’s Basilica under restoration.
Figure 6. Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s.
Figure 7. A detail from the famous Pala d’Oro now located in St. Mark’s Basilica. Major part of the artefact was crafted in Constantinople at the beginning of the 12th century after having been commissioned by the Venetian duchy of the period.
The congress lasted for six days after the official commencement and took place in Venice for five days and in Padua for one day, which is about half an hour away and is the home to the second oldest university in Italy. In fact, the event could have been entirely organized in Venice. During the congress, I had the chance to ask a professor, with administrative duties who had knowledge of the organization processes, why one day of the sessions were held in Padua despite it being logistically difficult for all parties involved including the participants, the organizers and the technical teams, and received an interesting answer. It turns out that the city of Padua had made a request to the organizing committee for the congress to come to their city, if only for a day, and provided significant financial support for this to happen. Even this brief information about the city of Padua’s desire to be included in the congress program gives an idea in terms of the contributions of such scientific congresses, not only on tourism but also on the prestige and social progress of a city (fig. 8).
Figure 8. Pages of Buondelmonti’s Liber insularum, showing Constantinople in the 15th century, included in an exhibition of manuscripts held in conjunction with the congress in Padua.
Figure 9. An installation by Wu Tsang, one of the works exhibited at the Arsenale as part of the main exhibition titled “The Milk of Dreams” of the 59th International Venice Biennial.
It should be noted that both Venice and Padua, but especially Venice, host serious crowds throughout the entire tourist season and are nowhere near short in terms of tourists or visitor numbers. As a matter of fact, during the Byzantine Congress, there were heavy crowds in Venice in addition to the usual tourists due to the 59th International Venice (Art) Biennale that takes place every two years and because of the Venice Film Festival held at the beginning of September every year (figs 9–12). In this respect, that is, as a city already boasting with visitors and tourism, Venice was actually an expensive city not only for participants from Turkey but also for other participants such as students and early career researchers from other countries. Yet, despite this, in-person participation in the congress was very high. Both Turkish and international academics had put in a lot of effort for the Byzantine Congress to be held in Istanbul (a selection is made at every congress for the next host city from among the candidate cities). It would have been a great opportunity for Istanbul to host the congress in a way that befits its magnificence, and in a sense, to celebrate the city that was the capital of empires, along with its history and cultural heritage.
Figure 10. Simone Leigh, Arsenale, Venice Biennale.
Figure 11. Detail from Ilit Azoulay’s work, which makes references to Seljuk art, Israeli Pavilion, Venice Biennale.
Figure 12. Mount Moriah at the Gate of the Ghetto designed by Anish Kapoor for the entrance of Palazzo Manfrin which is undergoing restoration. From the Anish Kapoor exhibition held simultaneously with the Venice Biennale at the Galleria dell’Accademia di Venezia and Palazzo Manfrin..
Figure 13-14. A view of the San Giobbe campus of Ca’ Foscari University, where the congress was held, taken from the Venice train station, and a view from the campus.
Sessions were held at Ca’ Foscari University’s campus near the train station, (the University has premises at different locations in Venice), and despite minor technical setbacks everything went smoothly in terms of the organization (figs 13–14). The most interesting activity organized for the congress participants was the special night tour of St. Mark’s
Basilica, where we had the opportunity to see and take pictures of the monument when it was closed to other tourists, in other words, the crowds (figs 15–16). With its magnificent architecture and details, St. Mark’s Basilica, located in the center of Venice, is one of the places that draws the attention of all tourists visiting Venice where long queues must be expected to enter the monument. Moreover, with the traces of Byzantine art and culture visible in its architecture, decoration and collections. St. Mark’s attracts all academics working in fields related to Byzantium. That is why, thanks to this special tour, it was an unforgettable event for the congress participants to visit this monument at a quiet time and accompanied by guides well-versed on the subject.
Figure 15. A light show displaying the golden mosaics in St. Mark’s Basilica, as a representation of the way they would have been illuminated by the oil lamps and candles in the past, photographed during a private night tour of the building.
Figure 16. The magnificent floor mosaics of San Marco, which are very difficult to see and photograph among the daily crowd of visitors, and which we had the opportunity to see thanks to the special tour.
Several participants pointed that some details could have been planned better and that since a congress on Byzantium is organized in Venice, the actual program could have been further enriched with additional tours and different activities in conjunction with the main event. Yet, in general, the most regrettable issue for most of the participants was that the congress program, which was 80 pages long and included session times, halls, and paper titles, was not handed out to participants as hard copies and was only available in PDF format.
In the session titled “Borderlands and Border-Peoples from the 11th-13th Centuries,” which consisted of papers by four different researchers from four different countries, I had the opportunity to present my research to participants working on Byzantine Empire from around the world and get their feedback (fig. 18). It was promising and pleasing to see that scientific research is valued in international academic environments. With the paper I presented in Padua, I had the opportunity to share my academic research with an international audience, and also to meet many scholars, from PhD students to emeritus professors, coming from universities and research centers located in different countries including Turkey, who study a variety of subjects such as Byzantine history, language, music, theology, architecture, archaeology and/or art. It is known in academic circles that such environments with high academic interactions provide participants with opportunities such as research projects, publications or joint publication preparations, academic networks, and many other prospects in their future studies. The academic event made me wish that I had attended the past Byzantine congresses. Nevertheless, this was an introduction andI hope to continue participating in the future congresses.
Figure 17. Session titled “Borderlands and Border-peoples from the 11th-13th Centuries”.
The next, namely the 25th International Congress of Byzantine Studies, will be held in Vienna in 2026, the original date as planned, despite the one-year lapse due to the pandemic. In her closing speech, Professor Claudia Rapp, the head of the organizing committee of the Vienna congress, announced that although they only have four years to prepare, they are planning to organize a congress that is well thought-out in every sense and suitable for the participation of everyone from students to retired academics (fig. 19). See you in Vienna!
Figure 18. A scene from the closing session of the congress.
Gizem Dörter, Postdoctoral Associate, Byzantine Studies Research Center, Boğaziçi University.
Translation: Neylan Bağcıoğlu
Proofreading: Miray Eroğlu