Participation in the international conference Small Worlds, Big Worlds: Medieval Mediterranean Perspectives in Lisbon

From June 22 to 25, 2026, the Ninth International Conference of the Society for the Medieval Mediterranean, entitled Small Worlds, Big Worlds: Medieval Mediterranean Perspectives, was held in Lisbon. The conference was organized by the Institute for Medieval Studies (Instituto de Estudos Medievais – IEM) at NOVA University Lisbon, bringing together medievalists to explore the medieval Mediterranean in all its diversity, from small local communities to major urban centres and extensive trade networks.

On June 24, Associate Professor Tomislav Popić, PhD, of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Rijeka delivered a paper entitled Eastern Adriatic Ports in the Late Middle Ages: Encounters, Networks, and Communities. Drawing on a comparative analysis of late medieval portolan charts and the judicial records of the city of Zadar, the presentation showcased research findings on eastern Adriatic ports as dynamic spaces of everyday maritime life, where information was exchanged and legal disputes and the risks of navigation were negotiated and resolved.

Participation in the conference formed part of the planned activities of the Croatian Science Foundation project The Formation of the Territorial State in Late Medieval Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia: Socio-Political and Administrative Transformations (CroDaSTrans, IP-2025-02-4345), led by Professor Ivan Majnarić, PhD, and carried out at the Catholic University of Croatia.