Apertura y comprensión del Mediterráneo meridional peninsular al espacio europeo

Abstract

Towards the end of the Middle Ages, there is a convergence of routes, peoples, ships, merchandises and innovative ideas and techniques in the Southwestern Mediterranean that little by little begin to filter into the fabric of the coastal States although with uneven intensity. These are still borderlands, especially maritime coastal areas (pirates and privateers), who­se port cities (such as Alicante) are revitalized by trade with Atlantic countries (Flanders) and the· presence of Italian and German economic operati­ves. Intensive circulation of men (captives, exiled Jews and Moors) and cultures from Islam to the Italian Renaissance along with the advent of pri­nting are all proof of a world full of vitality yet somehow anchored to it­self, one which looks more towards the Mediterranean than towards the Atlantic.