• Bacci Michele

For centuries, Jerusalem and Palestine were perceived by followers of the three so-called “Abrahamic” religious traditions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) as the true centre of the world, due to their “holiness”. This holiness was defined and experienced both by the local communities — highly diverse in linguistic and religious terms — and by countless pilgrims from across the globe, in various ways that nonetheless shared the idea that the region was dotted with places, or portions of land, sanctified through contact with sacred figures and evoking persons and events, past and future, worthy of commemoration and veneration.
The course, based on research conducted by Professor Bacci and his team within the SNSF-Advanced Grant project “Holy Networks”, investigates the dynamics through which “holy places” became associated with the different sacred histories of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and the many ways in which their physical experience was shaped through architectural framing, the staging of focal points, the deployment of decoration and imagery, the promotion of performative practices, and the organisation of predetermined kinetic pathways.
In addition to tracing the history of holy places from Late Antiquity to the Ottoman period — that is, up to the threshold of modernity — the course offers a comparative approach aimed at highlighting both the affinities and divergences in how Jews, Christians, and Muslims experienced the localised holiness of Palestine. Particular emphasis will be placed on sites that were frequented and shared by different communities, with the aim of offering interpretative tools for the present.
The course will also include contributions from invited experts who will explore specific topics from various perspectives.

Acquisition of the methodological foundations for the study of holy places, at the intersection of art and architectural history, literary history, and religious anthropology; understanding of their significance for the study of medieval and modern culture; reflection on the centrality of “localised holiness” as a form of embodied experience of the divine and its remarkable impact on the arts and worldview within Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

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