ITALIANS AND OTHERS IN THE SHADOW OF ABDULHAMID KHAN

Abstract

Shortly after Abdulhamid II had become padishah, a book that would prove to be highly influential would be published by the Milanese Treves publishing house: "Costantinopoli" by Edmondo De Amicis. This travel account that shows the influence of earlier French writing (Lamartine, Flaubert, Nerval and others) may be considered the Italian key text on the formative years of Abdulhamid during the reign of Abdulaziz. Not only Italian travelers would be strongly influenced by his impressions and descriptions, but also many European tourists would look at the Ottoman court and capital through his eyes. It can be supposed that the sovereign himself showed a great interest in foreign travel accounts. He certainly did as far as the Italian presence in his state is concerned. He well knew that the Italian presence in Constantinople (Pera, Galata) preceded the city’s Ottoman conquest, this making it the oldest ethnic group – if it is allowed to speak of Venetians, Genoese and many others as a nation, while in reality they had quite recently joined in a process of nation building – after the original Greek population. Not only that: the Italian states had been business partners from the Late Middle Ages (as well as military antagonists). The sympathetic Italian outlook on Constantinople will have contributed in a notable way to the Sultan’s benevolence vis-à-vis Italian culture. Orientalist tendencies in Italian art such as represented by some of Verdi’s operas or Donizetti Pasha’s musical creations, excellent painters such as Zonaro, architects as D’Aronco, tailors as Parma were much welcomed and supported by the Sultan whose keen interest in European culture and technical know-how would be unjustly overshadowed by his political conservatism and his struggle for autonomy as a world leader. Thanks to his efforts contemporary Ottoman culture will find its place among the nations. In this article we will examine some prominent Italian artists and their creations for the Ottoman court.