Apennine Peninsula Research Articles

The Youngest European Record of the Chelonian Family Trionychidae (Calabrian, Central Italy) Offers New Clues on the Quaternary Extirpation History of the Softshell Turtles

We report on the geologically youngest occurrence of the softshell turtle family Trionychidae in Europe, from middle Calabrian (Emilian) strata cropping out at Montalto, Pisa Province (Tuscany, central Italy). This record indicates that the softshell turtles survived well past the glacial pulse at ca. 1.8 Ma. That the most recent finds of Trionychidae all over Europe come from mainland Italy further evokes the role of the Apennine peninsula as a refugium for humid-dwelling herpetofaunas through most of the Plio-Pleistocene. Reduced humidity associated with the intensified cool stages at the beginning of the Early–Middle Pleistocene Transition may have been behind the demise of the last European softshell turtles.

Kontekst małżeństwa Bony Sforzy z Zygmuntem I Starym: dyplomacja Maksymiliana I we Włoszech i Środkowej Europie

This article will focus on the circumstances which contributed to the 1517 dynastic marriage of Bona Sforza of Milan to Sigismund I the Elder of Poland. It will examine the decline of Sforza and Neapolitan Aragon influence on the Apennine Peninsula in the face of Valois and Habsburg claims to supremacy. This article aims to place Habsburg diplomatic manoeuvring to secure the installation of Maximillian I’s niece as Queen of Poland in the context of Habsburg-Valois rivalry in Italy and Habsburg ambitions for dominance in Central Europe where they challenged the Jagiellon dynasts of Bohemia and Hungary, and of Poland and Lithuania. This article will demonstrate that the contracting of the Sforza-Jagiellon marriage was initiated by Maximillian I as an extension of a deliberate and assertive Habsburg policy. Habsburg policy objectives included removal of the prime claimant to the throne of Milan and the placing of a queen acquiescent to Habsburg strategy at the Jagiellon court in Poland. This article will conclude that the marriage was used by the Habsburgs as a dynastic and political tool to limit the Jagiellon dynasty’s power and authority in Central Europe.

Genetic admixture between Central European and Alpine wolf populations

The recovery and expansion of formerly isolated wolf populations in Europe raise questions about the nature of their interactions and future consequences for population viability and conservation. Will fragmented populations fuse or maintain a certain level of isolation with migration? Central Europe is suitable for obtaining empirical data in this field as it represents a ‘crossroad' with the potential for contact among several phylogeographic lineages. In this study, non‐invasive genetic samples obtained during population monitoring in the Bohemian and Bavarian Forest (BBF) mountain ranges in the Czech Republic and Germany (Bohemian Massif) were analysed at different neutral markers including mitochondrial sequence, nuclear autosomal microsatellites and gonosomal sex markers. Resultant genetic profiles were compared with reference data to study population ancestry. Both cluster analyses of microsatellite genotypes and syntopic occurrence of haplotypes HW01 and HW22 showed genetic admixture between Central European and Alpine populations. This represents secondary contact and interbreeding of formerly allopatric populations with different phylogeographic histories and distant expansion centres in different biomes in the Baltic region versus the Apennine peninsula and Alps. Moreover, the study describes the founding event and genealogy of this admixed deme, inhabiting intermediate environmental conditions compared to parental forms, and emphasises the role of protected areas as stepping stones in the range recolonization process in endangered large mammals.

Krakowskie tradycje badań dziejów powszechnych epoki nowożytnej. Zarys problematyki: Półwysep Apeniński

The Italian issues, especially in relation to the modern era in the context of historical research, poses an extremely interdisciplinary character. Therefore, the outline of these issues must include research related not only to the political or military history of the countries located on the Apennine Peninsula but also to the concerns of the history of culture and science as well as the history of legal and political doctrines or historiographic reflection. These examinations should be also conducted in the areas of history of culture, legal and political history, and the history of the Church, and to a much lesser extent in the area of socio‑economic history and the history of wars. In the research carried out in all these fields, one also finds issues concerning Italy and Poland’s relations with the Italian states with parti-cular emphasis put on the Holy See and the Republic of Venice. Józef Andrzej Gierowski was the author of the only Polish synthesis of Italian history. This scholar and his academic output discussing the Italian issues (including the issue of an “early Enlightenment”) held a high position in the traditions of the research on the general history of the Apennine Peninsula in the modern era. The conclusions presented in his writings indicate research perspectives which still remain valid.

The influence of Italian architectural traditions on the formation of the appearance of the Suyumbike tower of the Kazan Kremlin

This article examines options for cultural and historical understanding by humanitarians of the architectural style of the Suyumbike tower. The authors consider the influence of the architectural traditions of the Apennine Peninsula of the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance on the architectural concept of the Suyumbike Tower. The hypothesis of "Italian influence" is confirmed in the facts of the biographies of famous architects Aristotle Fioravanti and Pietro Antonio Solari, who arrived in Russia in the 17th century from the Apennine Peninsula. The contribution of Apennine masters to the development of the architecture of the Kazan Kremlin is assessed. The authors made a comparison of the historical iconography of the Suyumbike Tower of the Kazan Kremlin and modern versions of its artistic reconstructions. The conclusion is made about the productivity of cultural and historical synthesis in the architectural appearance of the Kazan tower Suyumbike, which incorporated elements of the Italian and Eastern style, rethought by Russian architects.

Римско-самнитская борьба за Апулию в 326–290 гг. до н.э.

Introduction. In the IV century BC in ancient Italy there were large-scale changes associated with the displacement of «centres of power», that was leading to major military clashes in various regions. One such episode was the struggle for Apulia between two new centres of power in the person of the Samnites and Romans. However, despite the historical significance of their confrontation, the researchers did not pay special attention to this topic, and within the framework of general works they overlooked the latest archaeological discoveries. Materials and Methods. The research uses an integrated approach aimed at studying the interests of all involved sides in the context of the hierarchy of centres of power in the Apennine Peninsula. To analyse various aspects of the Roman-Samnite struggle the author uses both longknown written and numismatic sources and new archaeological data, previously not widely involved for the study of militarydiplomatic relations in ancient Italy. Analysis. The long-term military confrontation in Apulia began as a result of Rome invasion into the exclusive sphere of Samnite influence in the Daunian lands after the conclusion of an alliance with the rebellious Arpi in 326 BC. During the most active period of the struggle in 323-317 BC the Romans were able to establish control over majority of the large settlements, such as Teanum and Canusium, as well as the strategically important Lucería. The Romans skilfully took advantage of the diplomatic and military miscalculations of the Samnites that, together with the creation of spheres of responsibility and colonies in northern Apulia allowed them, to firmly establish themselves in new territories. In subsequent years, all attempts by the Samnites to regain lost positions, primarily in Luceria, failed to achieve any significant success. While Rome continued to expand its strategic foothold in Apulia, until it suppressed the last strongholds of Samnite power in the region after the capture of Silvium in 306 BC and Venusia in 291 BC. Results. The Roman-Samnite struggle in its primary basis was a consequence of the changing conditions of international relations in ancient Italy in the IV century BC. Both sides sought to establish control over the local centres of power in Apulia, but Rome eventually won the confrontation that opened it the way for expansion in southern Italy and deprived the Samnites of the opportunity to influence affairs in the region.

Genetic and morphological differentiation within Euphorbia japygica (Euphorbiaceae) suggests divergence of populations from the south-eastern Apennine Peninsula

Abstract The Mediterranean Basin is a hotspot of animal and plant diversity. Contrary to the Balkan and Iberian Peninsulas that were subject of many phylogeographic studies in past decades, the Apennine Peninsula and, in particular, the diversification of its flora has been neglected in contemporary phylogenetic studies. The few available studies showed a complex pattern of north–south differentiation of genetic diversity in Italy, both among the Alps, the Apuan Alps, and the Apennines, as well as within the Apennines. Here, we explore phylogeographic patterns within recently described Euphorbia adriatica, distributed in the central and northern Apennine Peninsula, the southern margin of the Eastern Alps and the north-western Balkan Peninsula, and its relationship to the southern Italian E. japygica. Our integrative approach using nuclear ITS sequences, amplified fragment length polymorphisms, relative genome size estimation combined with chromosome counting, as well as multivariate morphometrics inferred a weak genetic differentiation that only partly corresponds to the morphological differentiation. Whereas all southern populations have hairy capsules characteristic for E. japygica, only those in south-eastern Italy (Puglia and Basilicata) are genetically divergent. There are, however, additional morphological characters that differentiate them from other populations. Our data are thus in favour of recognizing a single species, E. japygica, which includes E. adriatica that should be treated as a subspecies, named E. japygica subsp. prostrata. We provide a revised taxonomic treatment for E. japygica, including the typification. Our study shows the necessity of further in-depth investigations of diversification of Italian biota.

Этторе Скола. Исторические и семейные хроники 1980-х

The article explores the language and themes of the films made by Italian film director Ettore Scola in the 1980s. The author of the article considers this period of Ettore Scola’s career in the context of the general evolution of his cinematography and the development of Italian cinema — movement from early Italian-style comedies to historical frescoes and parables of elusive time. Scola’s films not only reflect the social, political and cultural changes in the Apennine Peninsula in the last three decades of the 20th century, but also address universal, philosophical themes. These melancholic stories often contain a warning of danger and a reminder of responsibility for our actions which can lead to irreparable consequences. In 1983, the director made one of his best and most famous films, Ballando, ballando, in which the characters do not speak a word. Presenting a Parisian ballroom as a model of history, Scola argues that the value of a person’s private life is undeniable, and that it is he, the hero emerging from the elements of everyday life — funny, absurd, and contradictory, but able to hope in spite of unbearable circumstances — who is its main protagonist. In The Family (1986), this model is a flat in Rome, where the protagonist’s family has lived for decades. Finally, Skola’s What Time Is It? (1989) develops the findings from his previous films, but unlike them, it does not present a group portrait in an interior setting against the backdrop of the 20th century but a dialogue between two characters — father and son — taking place during a city walk on a single day. However, this chamber family chronicle is also imbued with reflections on the relationship between an “ordinary” man and the time of big history.

The main stages in the development of Western European diplomacy in the early Modern period

The author relies on the thesis that the main factor in the development of Western European diplomacy in the early Modern period was the emergence and formation of the resident diplomacy. The article proposes a periodization of the development of diplomacy, based on an understanding of the development of Western European diplomacy in the 15th –16th centuries in the context of the transformation of the medieval socio-political model.Under the conditions of permanent internal and external political pressure, the medieval hierarchical model of the socio-political structure did not fulfill the function of legitimizing the new regimes on the Apennine peninsula. The peace of Lodi in 1454 consolidated the heterarchical or polycentric model of the socio-political structure, which assumed mutual recognition of the subjects of interstate relations as a source of legitimacy.In the second half of the 15th century this model, based on a network of stable diplomatic relations, was adopted by most of the major Italian states. Italian wars of 1494–1559 influenced the spread of the new style of diplomacy with its resident envoys to the leading states of Western Europe.Despite the crisis of the second half of the 16th century the model of a resident diplomatic representation has become the basic one in the European diplomacy of Modern age.

The polemic of F. M. Dostoevsky with Catholicism: towards the formulation of the problem.

The subject of the study is the journalistic work of F. M. Dostoevsky in the aspect of his religious and confessional problems, which includes a complex of specific motives, among which the anti-Catholic question stands out. The author points out that the Catholic theme, the genesis of which dates back to the early 1860s, will become one of the leading ones for all subsequent publicistic and artistic creativity of Dostoevsky. Criticism of Catholicism as a sum of ideas, denunciation of the Catholic Church, correspondence polemics with the anti—Christian and even "anti-Christ" principle of papal Catholicism - all these topics are implicit or explicit in the novels of the Great Pentateuch and publicistic articles by F. M. Dostoevsky, influencing the conceptual design and architectonics of the works. It is based on this fact that the problem of the genesis and evolution of the writer's anti-Catholic views acquires a relevant significance in literary studies and Dostoevistics. The author demonstrates that the Catholic theme appears in Dostoevsky's field of vision in the first half of the 1860s in connection with the events unfolding in the west of the Russian Empire and on the Apennine Peninsula - the Polish uprising of 1863-1864 and the Italian Risorgimento. Catholic problems initially arise in Dostoevsky's field of view as a journalistic fact — various eventful incidents, everyday episodes captured by foreign and domestic press. The author of the article believes that it was the factology of the "Polish question" and the "Roman question", along with the anti-Catholic rhetoric of Slavophiles and soil scientists, that had a decisive influence on the formation of Dostoevsky's steady rejection of Catholicism, with which the writer will confidently and convincingly polemize until the end of his days.

Lampedusa jako „Brama do Europy” – kształtowanie wizerunku wyspy we włoskim reportażu przez pryzmat zjawiska imigracji afrykańskiej

This article is an attempt to familiarize the readers with Italian reportages that deal with the subject of African migrations to the Apennine Peninsula. In recent years, this phenomenon has been described and analyzed by many writers and journalists; however, this article places special emphasis on the representation of the island of Lampedusa, which belongs to the archipelago of the Italian Pelagie Islands and has in the last 30 years become not only the proverbial “Gateway to Europe”, but also a place that testifies to the issue of illegal migrations. When analyzing the reportages about Lampedusa, the most interesting aspect (from the Polish perspective, at least) seems to be the Italian angle on the “problem of the island.”

A new, rare, small-ranged, and endangered mountain snake of the genus Elaphe from the Southern Levant

The genus Elaphe Fitzinger, 1833 includes 17 species of charismatic, large-sized, non-venomous, Eurasian snakes. In the Western Palearctic, the genus is represented by three species from the Elaphe quatuorlineata group ranging from the Apennine peninsula to Central Asia. The southernmost population of this group is distributed in the mountains of the Southern Levant, with more than 400 km gap to other Elaphe populations. This population has been known to science for only 50 years and is virtually unstudied due to its extreme rarity. We studied these snakes’ morphological and genetic variation from the three countries where they are known to occur, i.e., Israel (Hermon, the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights), Lebanon, and Syria. We used nine mitochondrial and nuclear genes, complete mitogenome sequences, and a comprehensive morphological examination including published data, our own field observations, and museum specimens, to study its relationship to other species in the group. The three currently recognized species of the group (E. quatuorlineata, E. sauromates, E. urartica), and the Levant population, form four deeply divergent, strongly supported clades. Three of these clades correspond to the abovementioned species while the Southern Levant clade, which is genetically and morphologically distinct from all named congeners, is described here as a new species, Elaphe druzei sp. nov. The basal divergence of this group is estimated to be the Late Miocene with subsequent radiation from 5.1 to 3.9 Mya. The revealed biogeography of the E. quatuorlineata group supports the importance of the Levant as a major center of endemism and diversity of biota in Eurasia. The new species is large-sized and is one of the rarest snakes in the Western Palearctic. Because of its small mountain distribution range, in an area affected by land use and climate change, the new Elaphe urgently needs strict protection. Despite political issues, we hope this will be based on the cooperation of all countries where the new species occurs.

Культурный код Италии (гастрономия глазами другого)

Language is a kind of cultural unconscious, often hidden from our own understanding, and nevertheless manifested in everyday actions and rituals. This paper attempts to trace the appearance of certain symbols characterizing the territory of the Apennine Peninsula. There emerges a way of reading the cultural text of a nation by the Other, inextricably linked with the influence of visual arts and the subjective experience of travelers on it. Long–term attitudes that have developed in the speculation of foreign cultures as a result of interactions with Italian reality are cultural codes understood as keys capable of deciphering the nation’s unique features. Given the peculiarities of the socio-cultural context in which we are immersed, the consideration of the enogastronomic culture of Italy in the optics of the Other determines the central theme of the present paper.

Origins of a New Poesy in Late Medieval Europe: Proto-Renaissance Rhymes by Giacomo da Lentini and the Dolce Stil Nuovo

The article reviews the historical and literary background of a new poesy that appeared to be an outcome of the accumulation and release of the new poets’ creative energy in late medieval Europe. We primarily deal with the poesy of the Sicilian school and the Dolce Stil Nuovo (‘sweet new style’). The interest of literary criticism in the historical and cultural background of influential literary phenomena, which have not lost their relevance, is defined by the need for reinterpreting them in new paradigms. The methods of cultural, historical, biographical, hermeneutic, and comparative analyses as well as the method of generalisation have been exploited for this research. The European poetic tradition has passed a long way in searching for new forms and means of the artistic representation of reality. The emergence of the Sicilian School on the Apennine Peninsula in the 13th century became the initial stage of the literary and linguistic history of the Old World. It marked the beginning of Italian poesy the development of the Dolce Stil Nuovo and was largely the forerunner of Dante’s and Petrarch’s poems, laying the foundations of the philosophy of lyric poetry. The Sicilians gave a powerful impetus to the further development of poetic theory, images, and themes, which would be pivotal in stilnovismo, as well as to the assimilation of many authors of the Renaissance in Europe. The appeal to certain themes and motives as well as their transformation highlighted the idea of Sicilian authors about poetry as a specific kind of philosophy. We emphasise that the time of origination and a highly cultured environment have caused the refinement of art forms and stylistic devices for revealing the conceptual content of such verses. Giacomo da Lentini reconceptualised the approaches to rhyming and poetising, and most importantly — to the psychological perception of reality and understanding of love in the metaphysical dimension. The ideological and aesthetic unity of the poets of the Dolce Stil Nuovo, who developed the innovations of da Lentini, made it possible to relate them with the writers of the early Renaissance. The article also focuses on the specifics of literary activity during the expansion of new European poetry leading to the invention of a sonnet as the poetic form that follows a particular rhyming pattern.

Stanisław August Morawski – wybitna, niemedialna postać Polonii włoskiej

The aim of the article is to present the biography of Stanislaw August Morawski (1922–2019) – an outstanding figure of the Italian Polonia, who avoided media publicity. On the basis of a few available book sources and biographies published after his death in the Polish and Polonia press, introduced his life in Poland and in Italy and a huge number of his activities for Poland, Poles and the Polish community in Italy. S. Morawski was, among others, for many years the president of the Rome Foundation J.Z. Umiastowska, the Lanckoroński Foundation, co-founder of the Union of Poles in Italy and a member of its board, author of many publications on the history of Poles in the Apennine Peninsula.

A Cross-cultural Comparison of Tomb Murals from the Etruscans and the Kingdom of Goguryeo

The Etruscan civilization on the Apennine Peninsula (ca. 900 - 27 B.C.) and the kingdom of Goguryeo on the Korean Peninsula (ca. 37 B.C. - 668) were separated by time and space. Nevertheless, they share an interesting aspect of their culture in common which is the creation of murals in the chambers of mounded tombs. These murals provide important insights into the lifeworld and the perceptions of the afterlife for both civilizations.
 The present study compares the themes of the murals from the Etruscans and the kingdom of Goguryeo in order to ascertain similarities and differences in their pictorial language. Whilst the differences may be simply explained by cultural differences, the similarities may point to commonly shared or universal values and modes of representation in early state formations. As can be demonstrated there is a range of themes that occur in both civilizations such as depictions of the tomb owners, banqueting scenes, hunting, processions and many more. The juxtaposition of the funerary art from both civilizations reveals also a few peculiarities which may be unique for each cultural sphere. In case of Goguryeo this is the depiction of star constellations and for the Etruscans the representation of sex scenes.
 It is being argued that the similarities in the scenes can be explained by common social and behavioral factors. These are for instance the performance of an ancestor cult, a strong affiliation to elite distinction and the creation of a group-related identity.

Phylogenomics of Anguis and Pseudopus (Squamata, Anguidae) indicates Balkan-Apennine mitochondrial capture associated with the Messinian event

A dated phylogenetic hypothesis on the evolutionary history of the extant taxa of the Western Palearctic lizards Anguis and Pseudopus is revised using genome-wide nuclear DNA and mitogenomes. We found overall concordance between nuclear and mitochondrial DNA phylogenies, with one significant exception – the Apennine A. veronensis. In mitochondrial DNA, this species forms a common clade with the earliest diverging lineage, the southern Balkan endemic A. cephallonica, while it clusters together with A. fragilis in nuclear DNA. The nuclear phylogeny conforms to the morphology, which is relatively similar between A. veronensis and A. fragilis. The most plausible explanation for the mitonuclear discordance is ancient mitochondrial capture from the Balkan ancestor of A. cephallonica to the Apennine population of the A. fragilis-veronensis ancestor. We hypothesize that this capture occurred only in a geographically restricted population. The dating of this presumed mitochondrial introgression and capture coincides with the Messinian event, when the Balkan and Apennine Peninsulas were presumably largely connected. The dated nuclear phylogenomic reconstruction estimated the divergence of A. cephallonica around 12 Mya, while the sister clade representing the A. fragilis species complex consisting of the sister species A. fragilis–A. veronensis and A. colchica–A. graeca further diversified around 7 Mya. The depth of nuclear divergence among the evolutionary lineages of Pseudopus (0.5–1.2 Mya) supports their subspecies status.

Shi’a Women in Italy: Between Tradition and Traditionalism

Through the case study of 20 Shi’a organisations in Italy, this article aims to explore the meanings of traditionalism and how it grows among certain Shi’a women who are members of these organisations. The article compares the two differing and antithetical ways in which Shi’a women relate to their traditions, one being spontaneous and emotional, the other rational and discursive. The primary objective is to show that the rationalisation of tradition, or traditionalism, develops only among women willing and capable of relating to their European host context. Instead of an organic tendency, Shi’a traditionalism emerges in this case as a reaction to Italian society, tailored to deal with the social concerns that surface in the Apennine peninsula. The social concerns eventually propel women to revamp their religious heritage.

Plant phylogeography of the Balkan Peninsula: spatiotemporal patterns and processes

The Balkan Peninsula is widely acknowledged as one of the centers of European biodiversity and a major glacial refugium for plant species. Its extensive geographic heterogeneity and diverse mosaic of habitats, coupled with relatively high environmental stability over long periods, have enabled the diversification of lineages and simultaneously fostered the long-term survival of diverse species. The increasing number of phylogeographically studied plant species in the region has substantially contributed to a better understanding of the relationships among closely related taxa and provided significant insights into intraspecific lineage differentiation. The present paper reviews the current knowledge on plant phylogeography in the Balkan Peninsula. By providing an updated overview of the most recent studies dealing with the diversity and evolution of Balkan plants, we explore the phylogeographic patterns and roles of refugia in structuring genetic diversity and highlight the crucial evolutionary processes that shaped the diversity of plants in the region. Molecular clock-based estimations highlight the importance of Pleistocene climatic fluctuations across taxonomic groups and lineage distribution patterns corroborate the persistence of multiple glacial refugia. Spatial congruence in phylogeographic splits is determined and discussed. An examination of phylogeographic connections with adjacent regions (i.e., the Alps, Apennine Peninsula, Asia Minor, Carpathians, and central Europe) uncovers several consistent patterns. Additionally, allopatric and ecological speciation, polyploidy, and hybridization are identified as crucial evolutionary mechanisms acting in the Balkan Peninsula and shaping species diversity. Furthermore, the existing research gaps are identified and future approaches with the potential to better understand the unique Balkan flora are highlighted.

Sculpting the Glauberg "prince". A traceological research of the Celtic sculpture and related fragments from the Glauberg (Hesse, Germany).

Article presents the results of a complex traceological research of the famous statue of the „prince”of Glauberg, found in an Early La Tène funeral complex in Glauberg (Hesse). Research focused also on two other fragments of related sandstone sculptures, found together with the Glauberger prince. The sandstone „prince”of Glauberg was already in the past a subject of many archaeological studies. Nevertheless, all or absolute majority of them were focused on aspects of art historian nature or on the question of the origin, role and function of such sculptures in the Early Iron Age Central Europe. On the contrary, the aim of our research is oriented exclusively on the questions related to the manufacture of this sculpture, identification of used sculptor´s tools and applied working techniques. Our research was realised by means of digital documentation followed by the aplication of traceological methods. The character of the survived working traces on the sculpture´s surfaces was studied by mechanoscopy, while the material of used tools was determined by X-ray fluorescence. The reconstructions of used tools were compared with the existing tools as represented by the Iron Age archaeological finds. This comparison was oriented on the most relevant regions of developed La Tène culture, particularly on South Western Germany and Bohemia. However, also other relevant area, significant as the possible source of inspiration of Celtic sculptors for the creation of the monumental sculpture–Apennine peninsula, was taken into consideration. Our research revealed individual steps and phases during the sculpture´s manufacture, enabled the reconstrucion of used tools and confirmed real existence of such tools in mentioned regions. Finally it has brought first indices of the necessity of the distinguishing between ideological and technological aspects of related Celtic sculpture, when considering possible influence of Apennine peninsula on transalpine Central Europe.