ENRICO BASSO (Genoa, 1961), graduated in Medieval History in 1985 in the University of Genoa and specialized in Palaeography, Diplomatic and Archive-keeping at the School of the State Archives in Genoa in the same year. In the academic year 1986/1987, he has obtained a scholarship by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria for research in the “Kliment Ohridski” University of Sofia. He has obtained his Ph.D. in Medieval History in the Catholic University of Milan in 1993. From 1995 to 1997, he has enjoyed a scholarship in the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Genoa.

In the academic years 1997/1998, 1998/1999, 1999/2000 and 2003/2004, he has been contracting professor in the Faculty of Cultural Goods of the University of Sassari.
In the academic years 2000/2001, 2001/2002 and 2002/2003, he has been contracting professor in the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Genoa.
From 1999 to 2005, he has been Director Archivist Researcher in the Archival Superintendence of Liguria.
From the academic year 2000/2001 to 2004/2005, he has been professor of “Special Archive-keeping” in the School of Palaeography, Diplomatic and Archive-keeping of the State Archives in Genoa.
From 2005 to 2014, he has been Researcher of Medieval History (M-STO/01) in the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures of the University of Turin, and from November 1, 2014, he is Associated Professor of “History of Medieval Europe” (M-STO/01) in the Department of Languages, Foreign Literatures and Modern Cultures of the same University.

In 1999, he was one of the Founders Members of the Asociación Internacional de Historia y Civilización de la vid y el vino. From 2004 he is member of the Scientific Committee of the review “Anales de Historia del Puerto”, which is published by the University of Cadiz (SP). From 2007, he is Secretary of the Managing Committee of the “Centro Studi per la Storia dell’alimentazione e della Cultura materiale Anna Maria Nada Patrone”. From 2009, he is President of the Section of Turin of the Istituto Internazionale di Studi Liguri (confirmed in 2012). From 2011, he is member of the Managing Committee of the Società Ligure di Storia Patria (confirmed in 2014, 2017 and 2020). From 2021, he is member of the Scientific Committee of the “Centro Studi per la storia del notariato genovese G. Costamagna”, sponsored by the Consiglio Nazionale del Notariato, and of that one of the review “Anales de la Universidad de Alicante. Historia Medieval”, published by the University of Alicante.

Participation in Research Projects

2020-2024 – Responsible of a “Unità Operativa Locale” of the project PRIN 2017 LOC-GLOB. The local connectivity in an age of global intensification: infrastructural networks, production and trading areas in late-medieval Italy (1280-1500), promoted by the Universities of Bergamo, Sassari, Turin and Udine;
2020-2022 – Responsible of the “ex-60%” project of the University of Turin L’area alpina occidentale: intersezioni sociali, culturali ed economiche;
2019-2021 – Responsible of the “ex-60%” project of the University of Turin Relazioni culturali e socio-economiche e movimenti migratori tra comunità delle Alpi nord-occidentali (Savoia, Vallese, Canton Ticino) e il versante italiano;
2018- – Member of the “Grup de Recerca d’Arqueologia Medieval i Postmedieval” (GRAMP – UB) in the Departament d’Història Medieval, Paleografia i Diplomàtica of the Facultat de Geografia i Història of the Universitat de Barcelona;
2017-2020 – Responsible of the Research Project Dall’incastellamento alla valorizzazione turistico culturale dei castelli piemontesi, financed by Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Torino;
2017-2019 – Member of the Project “FENICE - Mercados y espacios económicos en el Mediterráneo Occidental: la Formación de un Entorno Internacional de Comercio Europeo en el tránsito a la Modernidad”, coordinated by the Universitat de Barcelona and financed by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad;
2014-2018 – Member of the Project Tripulaciones, armamentos, construcción naval y navegación en el Mediterráneo medieval, coordinated by CSIC – Institució Milá i Fontanals and financed by Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad;
2014-2017 – Member of the Scientific Committee of the GDRI “Exploitation of Mediterranean Alums in Europe” financed by C.N.R.S. and sponsored by the École Française de Rome and by the University of Rome I – “La Sapienza”;
2014-2016 – Responsible of the “ex-60%” project of the University of Turin Le parole della guerra: le armi, le fortificazioni, il nemico nelle fonti italiane dei secoli XIV-XVII;
2013-2015 – Member of the “ex-60%” project of the University of Turin Guerre combattute e guerre raccontate tra Medioevo ed Età Moderna;
2011-2013 – Member of the “ex-60%” project of the University of Turin Viaggiare. Transiti interdisciplinari dal Mediterraneo all’Atlantico: storia, antropologia storica, mentalità;
2011-2012 – Member of Operative Unity of the Research Project, financed by the Autonomous Region of Sardinia, Alle radici dell’identità. Linguaggi e rappresentazioni del potere nella Sardegna medievale;
2009-2010 – Member of the “ex-60%” project of the University of Turin Economia e strutture sociali nelle comunità rurali del Piemonte medievale (secoli X-XV);
2008-2009 – Member of the “ex-60%” project of the University of Turin Insediamenti e strutture economico-sociali nel Piemonte bassomedievale;
2007-2008 – Member of the “ex-60%” project of the University of Turin Incastellamento e insediamenti umani nel Piemonte sud-occidentale (secoli X-XV);
2006-2008 – Member of Operative Unity of the PRIN Research Project I centri minori dell’Italia comunale (secc. XII – inizio XV): risorse economiche, strutture sociali, reti istituzionali, promoted by the Universities of Turin, Bologna, Siena, Florence and Tuscia;
2006-2007 – Member of the “ex-60%” project of the University of Turin Popolamento ed attività economica e normativa di centri minori nell’arco alpino occidentale (secoli XI-XV);
2005-2006 – Member of the “ex-60%” project of the University of Turin Economia e popolamento in “centri secondari” e insediamenti rurali dell’Italia centro-settentrionale nel Basso Medioevo;
1997-2002 – Collaborator of the Project “Applicazione di tecniche di grafica innovativa ed elaborazione di immagini per sistemi complessi. Percorsi storico-artistici e musei virtuali con sistemi multimediali”, Research sector “BISANZIO NEI BENI CULTURALI DELL’AREA MEDITERRANEA CON PARTICOLARE RIGUARDO ALLA CONNESSIONE FRA MAR NERO E ITALIA”, promoted by M.U.R.S.T. and internationally co-ordinated by Professor Antonio CARILE of the University of Bologna and Professor Sergej P. KARPOV of the “Lomonosov” University in Moscow;
1996-1999 – Member of the “Groupement de recherche 555 – Migrations, frontières et sociétés dans le monde méditerranéen médiéval” by C.N.R.S., co-ordinated by Professor Michel BALARD of the University of Paris I – “Sorbonne” and by Professor Alain DUCELLIER of the University of Toulouse II – “Le Mirail”;
1995-1996 – Member of the “Groupement de recherche 927 – Etat et colonisation au Moyen Age” by C.N.R.S., co-ordinated by Professor Michel BALARD of the University of Paris I – “Sorbonne” and by Professor Alain DUCELLIER of the University of Toulouse II – “Le Mirail”.

Fields of interest in the Research

Genoese Merchant Expansion in the Mediterranean; Economy and Society in the colonial settlements in the Aegean and the Black Sea; Genoese Merchant Communities in the Atlantic Europe (Iberian Peninsula and England); The productive settlements’ net in Liguria between the coast and inland; Statutory Legislation and Economic Activities; The Construction of the Genoese harbours-net in Liguria and the Mediterranean.

Particularly, the last thematic field was the object of some papers presented in International Congresses and of one specific monography (2011). This last, represented a first, synthetic, approach to the new angle of view from which I intend to study the relation between Genoa and the harbours of Liguria and the Tyrrhenian (and beyond them, in the general context of the Mediterranean). We need to leave apart the old scheme Dominant – dominated in favour of a vision, which underlines the role played by each port in a net co-ordinated by the Ligurian commercial aristocracy. There were not studies on the subject by this angle of view after a pioneer-book of 1983. Therefore, the book of 2011 aroused a special interest in the Historical field of studies, both at a national and international level.

Experiences of Research

State Archives in Genoa; State Archives in Milan; State Archives in Turin; State Archives in Cagliari; Archivo de la Corona de Aragón; The National Archives, London; Bibliothéque Nationale de France, Paris (Fonds Manuscripts).

Languages

Italian
French, English and Portuguese (good knowledge of written and spoken language)
Spanish and Catalan (good knowledge of written language)
Classic and Medieval Latin

Experiences in the Organization of International and National Congresses and Scientific Meetings

1. Dai feudi monferrini e dal Piemonte ai Nuovi Mondi oltre gli Oceani (1990);
2. San Quintino di Spigno, Acqui Terme e Ovada: un millenario. Fondazioni religiose ed assetto demo-territoriale dell’Alto Monferrato nei secoli X e XIII (1991);
3. Cavalieri di San Giovanni in Liguria e nell’Italia Settentrionale. Quadri regionali, uomini e documenti (2004)
4. 9th Annual International Congress of the Mediterranean Studies Association: “Genoa, Columbus & the Mediterranean” (2006);
5. I Paleologi di Monferrato. Una grande dinastia europea nel Piemonte tardo-medievale (2006)
6. Spazi cittadini e spazi delle campagne nel medioevo (2009);
7. Frutta. Storia, cultura e immagini (2010);
8. De fructibus. Storia, pratiche, linguaggi (2011);
9. Langhe. Quadri storici e intersezioni culturali in un’area di transito (2012);
10. Guerre combattute e guerre raccontate tra Medioevo ed Età moderna (2015);
11. Le pietre delle città medievali. Materiali, uomini, tecniche (area mediterranea, secc. XIII-XV) / Les pierres des villes médiévales. Matériaux, hommes, techniques (aire méditerranéenne, XIIIe-XVe siècles) (2017);
12. Le comunità dell’arco alpino occidentale: culture, strutture socio-economiche, insediamenti, antropologia storica (2018);
13. All’incrocio di due mondi: comunità, ambiente, culture, tradizioni delle valli alpine dal versante padano a quello elvetico (2020);
14. L’interscambio fra la costa e l’entroterra. Dinamiche economiche, strutture sociali e insediative (secoli XIV-XVI) (2022).
15. L’Impero di Genova. Dal Mar Nero all’Atlantico, la grande espansione nel Medioevo (2024)

Professor Basso has presented papers into more than 150 congresses in Italy and abroad, and he is author of 11 volumes and more than 130 publications.

Ahmet Usta had received his B.A. degree in History at Eastern Mediterranean University in Northern Cyprus; then he went on his M.A. in Eastern Mediterranean Studies programme in the same university with the thesis entitled "Evidence of the Nature, Impact and Diversity of Slavery in 14th Century Famagusta". He enrolled in Ph.D. programme in department of Medieval History at Istanbul University and defended his dissertation, entitled "Diplomatic and Commercial Relations of Mamluk Sultanate with Byzantine Empire and the Kingdom of Cilician Armenia: A New Approach for the Eastern Mediterranean Trade and the Traders (1260-1291)" in 2020. Now, he is working in department of History, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakif University. He was a research fellow in ISAM (Centre for Islamic Studies) between 2013 and 2017.

Languages: English, Latin (Classical), Arabic

English, Latin