Trame forti e orditi deboli: storiografia e stereotipi sull’arte medievale del Basso Adriatico tra Ottocento e Novecento

This article examines how the medieval art of Southern Italy, with particular attention to Apulia, has been interpreted since the unification of Italy, within the broader context of the rise of nationalisms. It analyzes historiographical choices that reveal a confrontation among different cultural traditions, scholarly methodologies, and ideological positions. The diversity of Southern Italy’s artistic heritage was in contrast with contemporary attempts to construct a unified Italian artistic identity, based on the search for a single stylistic model—typically the Lombard style—projected onto historically and culturally diverse regions. This plurality of perspectives reflects the experimental character of the emerging discipline of art history and engaged an entire generation of italian and foreign art historians.