At the heart of the Mediterranean, the island of Sicily has long been a place of encounter. Witness to conquests and cycles of migration, the islands enviable position as a unique nexus of exchange has left it heir to a rich linguistic, religious, ethnic and cultural inheritance. As the islands primary conduits of interaction, Sicilys vibrant cities not only functioned as important hubs for the exchange of goods and knowledge, but also facilitated the transcultural contact of peoples and cultures. This volume offers multi-disciplinary approaches in endeavouring to investigate how such manifold influences shaped the cities of the island and were reflected in the urban dynamics and transcultural communication of medieval Sicily.

Theresa Jäckh studierte Geschichte, Islamwissenschaft und Jüdische Studien. Sie ist wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin und Doktorandin der Nachwuchsforschergruppe Schutz und Asyl in Phasen politischer und religiöser Expansion der Transcultural Studies, Universität HeidelbergMona Kirsch absolvierte den Trinationalen Masterstudiengang European History and Civilisation in Leiden, Oxford, Paris. Sie ist Doktorandin am SFB 619 Ritualdynamik, Universität Heidelberg.