Quaderni IRCrES 16. Cap.18

Mediterranean ports and literature
Minds as open as ports,
in Amin Maalouf’s novels

Antonella Emina

CNR-IRCrES, National Research Council of Italy – Research Institute on Sustainable Economic Growth, via Real Collegio 30, 10024 Moncalieri TO, Italy

corresponding author: antonella.emina@ircres.cnr.it

Abstract

Blue Economy is a cornerstone of the Mediterranean culture and identity as it has provided a positive cultural impact shared between coastal societies.
Stories and experiences, along with some concrete aspects of economy, recur in different narrations of the world, therefore in literature too. For example, economic themes recur throughout many of the novels of the Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf. These themes are so significant that they concur to the development of an actual system of values. This report illustrates some main passages of Maalouf’s novels, focusing on suggestions and opinions drawn from Balthasar’s Odyssey and Leo Africanus. This paper is complementary to the video presented by the author at Blue Planet Economy (BPE) European Maritime Forum 2021.

Keywords: Mediterranean identity, economy and culture in the Mediterranean, Amin Maalouf.

How to Cite this Article

Emina, A. (2022). Mediterranean ports and literature. Minds as open as ports, in Amin Maalouf’s novels. In Vitali, G. & Zoppi, I.M. (eds). CNR case histories in the Blue Planet Economy (pp. 129-133). Quaderni IRCrES 16. Moncalieri, TO: CNR-IRCrES. http://dx.doi.org/10.23760/2499-6661.2022.16.18