Border Island on the Crossroads of History

Dionigi Albera is Senior Research Fellow at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). His research interests include migration, domestic organisation, pilgrimage and interfaith mixing. He has co-edited several volumes with a Mediterranean focus such as Sharing Sacred Spaces in the Mediterranean: Christians, Muslims, and Jews at Shrines and Sanctuaries (Indian University Press, 2012), and New Pathways in Pilgrimage Studies (Taylor and Francis, 2016).

“The author traces back the island’s history from medieval times to our own, along an itinerary that turns out to be full of surprises, from soldiers and crusaders, hermits and corsairs … intense and absorbing.” • Alex Corlazzoli in Il Fatto Quotidiano“Albera’s captivating historical anthropology guides us on a tour of Lampedusa and its centuries of history. By taking us to the shared sacred space of Cave-Sanctuary of Our Lady of Porto Salvo, and through the cast of dramatis personae who have passed through the island, Albera brilliantly demonstrates the intricate challenge, admonition, and hope that Lampedusa holds for the Mediterranean.” • Naor Ben-Yehoyada, Columbia University“The first ever history of the island and its 20 square kilometers, which is also a learned exploration of Europe's relationship with its southern borders.” • Allan Kaval, Le Monde

• List of IllustrationsIntroduction: The World-IslandChapter 1. A Desert IslandChapter 2. In Ariosto’s ArchipelagoChapter 3. The Virgin and the MaraboutChapter 4. The Enchantment of LampedusaChapter 5. The Travels of the VirginChapter 6. The Temple of Perfect ToleranceChapter 7. Hermits, Physiocrats and AdventurersChapter 8. The Myth Goes DormantConclusion: The Theatre of the FrontierReferences