The Ugo Tucci Prize is granted by the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti in Venice, one of the most prestigious Italian Academies. The prize is awarded every other year for original and unpublished thesis (mainly doctoral) on “The Mediterranean between Medieval and Early Modern Times”. The award committee has recognized the contribution of Umberto’s Ph.D. dissertation on the subject of “Protecting Foreigners’ Privileges” to the early modern Mediterranean history. In his study, he explores the rapid rise of claims of protection made by migrants and how these migrants could achieve security for enjoying their rights in the early modern Mediterranean. Specifically, he reconsiders the process of identification that defined the access to the Venetian institutional protection of Christian migrants (many of whom were Catholics) who were residing in different Ottoman cities in close contact with Muslim and Greek Orthodox communities. The study was conducted in the archives of Venice and the University of Milan.

Congratulations Umberto!