The Memory of Slavery

Abstract

The main aim of this chapter is to reflect on the memory of slavery and to analyse memory spaces in Italy. The chapter highlights the long-standing absence of a public memory of slavery in the Euro-Mediterranean world, while documenting a progressive change in the perception of the cultural heritage of the memory of slavery, even in the Mediterranean. It is instructive, then, to consider how and when the memory of Mediterranean slavery, and specifically slavery in these Italian cities, was marginalised and elided. Examining traces of memory that managed to avoid being erased and still survive may also reveal much about the process. This chapter will frame the relationship between memory and history in the context of new research on slavery. The chapter also analyses some sites associated with the memory of slavery in the Italian regions, particularly those with notable architectural or artistic features. Finally, I focus on the problem of the origin of racism in Europe, drawing on recent studies, philosophical sources and artwork.