Lo sguardo dello storico dell’arte. Nikolaj DmitrieviÄ Protasov e le Epistole dalla Puglia

This essay delves into the life and work of Nikolay Dmitryevich Protasov (1886-1940), a distinguished historian and archaeologist from clerical circles. In 1914, he embarked on a research mission to Apulia, Italy, where he made groundbreaking discoveries on the role played by Byzantine monasticism in the territories under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (8th-11th century). He also explored the potential influence of medieval Italian painting on ancient Russian painting. During his stay in Apulia, he became completely absorbed by the discovery of the Apulian rock churches and the depictions of Saint Nicholas of Myra present in them. He accurately described his findings in Pisma iz Apulii (1914-1915). Nikolay Dmitryevich’s letters serve as a noteworthy testimony to Italy’s great allure for Russians during that time. This attraction was not only due to the richness of its artistic heritage and scenic beauty but also because of the fundamental role that its southern part had played since the time of the Greek-Gothic War (535-553). His letters reveal echoes of ancient conflicts, persecutions, migratory waves, Greek monastic communities, and the lives of the Saints. The text is marked by an extreme sensory precision in the perception of the environment, and it is composed in the respectful observance and practical application of what was established by the cultural authority that had determined the scholar’s passage in the south of Italy.