Mediterranean academic conferences to explore maritime history in Sicily

Academic institutions in Sicily are hosting international conferences focused on Mediterranean history, maritime routes, and cultural exchanges.

In Ragusa, the Laboratorio degli Annali di Storia di Ragusa will host a symposium on October 3-4, 2026. Directed by Professor Carlo Ruta, the event will examine maritime routes from antiquity to the premodern era, exploring how naval technologies and sea voyages connected cultures from the North to the Mediterranean and Pacific. The conference will address themes of trade and maritime warfare and their impact on global geopolitics.

Simultaneously, Messina will host the fifth edition of Matabbìa from October 1-3, 2026. Organized by the University of Messina in collaboration with the University of Tunis-La Manouba, the event is titled ‘Mediterranean Coexistence: encounters, comparisons, contaminations and clashes between past and present’. The program features scholars, writers, and artists discussing the Mediterranean as a space of migration, commerce, and cultural intersection.