The Last Muslim of Italy

David Abulafia

During Dante’s lifetime, the only Muslim city on the Italian peninsula ceased to exist. Dante does not mention Lucera Saracenorum (a Latin placename meaning “Lucera of the Saracens”) in his writings, despite his references to the struggle between the Angevins and first the Hohenstaufen, then the Aragonese (for instance, in Purgatorio 6 and 7), or indeed his references to Muḥammad and to crusaders.

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