Schiavitù, conversioni e integrazioni nell’Italia moderna. A proposito di Schiavi del Papa di Marina Caffiero

Abstract

Drawing inspiration from the presentation of a book, the essay briefly outlines the historiography on slavery and conversions in the early modern age produced in recent decades. Marina Caffiero's volume, based on a peculiar source preserved in the Archives of the Vicariate of Rome, deals with the conversions of Muslims that took place in the Casa dei Catecumeni between the mid-18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. The reconstruction of the numerous stories reveals, together with the pervasive presence of the phenomenon of slavery in the century of the Enlightenment, the ways and motivations of the conversions and the multiple consequences of the past forms of integration even on today's society.