Acknowledgements
This book is based on my PhD dissertation, defended in June 2019. Although I was tempted – as some colleagues may relate to – to reshape it to reflect the ‘new me’ who has emerged since then, the volume remains essentially a translation, or rather an adaptation, of the original work from Italian into English. Changes include a few bibliographical updates and the incorporation of newly uncovered Vatican documents which surfaced while consulting other material. These additions are, however, supplementary and do not alter the main narrative. At the same time, as I am currently working on Venetian material, I felt the first chapter required a deeper treatment of the role of the Istrian hubs, both devotional and practical, within the Venetian Gulf.
These acknowledgments are also an addition. Over the past ten years I have had the privilege of meeting many inspiring people of different academic backgrounds and ages while working at the Chair of Medieval Art History in Fribourg. My deepest gratitude goes to Michele Bacci, who embodied the best kind of Doktorvater, offering guidance beyond expectations, methodological and content-related advice, bibliographical references that would have been impossible to find otherwise and encouragement whenever needed. His discreet mentoring allowed me to develop and express my own ideas and methodology freely, even within the framework of his larger project. I am also grateful to Donal Cooper for his generous comments on my thesis.
I am also thankful to the PhD duo Sofia Zoitou and Argyri Dermitzaki. This acknowledgment is not merely a return of thanks for the kind words in the introductions of their books, but a recognition of a friendship that has grown through a decade of collaboration, bound by the challenges of the PhD journey and a shared sense of humour. I am equally grateful to Alessandra Caffio, whom I first met while studying in Siena, for her companionship during archival research, transcription tips and generous support. For more recent friendly exchanges, I am grateful to Natalia Chitishvili, Alexandre Varela and Dominic-Alain Boariu. I am further indebted to Béatrice Bavarel, Michel Bavarel and Florian de Lehner for their help during my PhD years in Fribourg.
Special thanks go to the University of Fribourg and the Swiss National Science Foundation, which supported both my PhD and this publication. I am also grateful to the staff of the University’s faculty and departmental offices and libraries, especially Danielle Chassot and Claire-Lyse Curty, for their patient acquisition of Dalmatian-related library holdings. All colleagues and administrative personnel deserve a merci beaucoup; in particular, I wish to acknowledge Lilian Daum Bettina and Johanna Steiner, who always found handy solutions for the department’s ‘emergencies’ during my PhD.
I am indebted to the many libraries and archives that hosted me: the Znanstvena knjižnica in Zadar, the Znanstvena knjižnica and the Franciscan Library in Dubrovnik, the Vatican Library and the Vatican Apostolic Archives, the Historical Archive of the Diocesan Curia in Verona and the Bibliotheca Hertziana in Rome, among others. I would like to single out the staff and directors of the Gennadius Library in Athens and the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florence, Maria Georgopoulou and Gerhard Wolf respectively, for their exceptional support.
For the final stages of this volume, I am especially thankful to Alexandra Pel, who edited and proofread the text with great professionalism and sensitivity, and to the Brill staff, particularly Teddi Dols, Melissa Henson and Joanna El Mir, for their generous support.
I dedicate this volume to my parents, Dragica and Ivan, who nurtured my curiosity for life and books.