In Bologna the Ottoman trace is kept not in a fortress or a mosque but in a library. It belongs to a remarkable man whose life was entwined with the Ottomans: Luigi Ferdinando Marsili (1658–1730).

A young observer in Istanbul

Born in Bologna, Marsili joined the Venetian embassy to Istanbul in 1679–1680. In the city he met Ottoman scholars and scribes and studied the military system, the currents of the Bosphorus and books. The manuscripts and maps he gathered became the core of a collection that would grow in later years.

A year in captivity

Marsili later joined the Habsburg army. In July 1683, as the Ottoman army advanced on Vienna, he was wounded and captured. Falling into the hands of Tatar soldiers, he was sold to a pasha and watched the siege of Vienna from inside the Ottoman camp. He was ransomed and freed in March 1684. The experience made him one of the Europeans who knew the Ottomans best (see Vienna).

Science and Ottoman books

After the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699, Marsili served on the commission that drew the new border between the Ottomans and the Habsburgs. His book “The Military State of the Ottoman Empire” (Stato militare dell’Imperio Ottomanno), published posthumously in 1732, is one of the most detailed European works on the Ottoman army. In 1711 he gave his collections to his home city and founded the Institute of Sciences (Istituto delle Scienze). The Islamic and Ottoman manuscripts he collected are now in the University Library of Bologna.

Once a captive of the Ottomans, Marsili became one of the most important people to introduce Ottoman culture to Europe.

What to see today

  • Palazzo Poggi Museum: the palace museum displaying the collections of the Institute of Sciences that Marsili founded.
  • University Library of Bologna: the Ottoman and Islamic manuscripts of the Marsili collection (for researchers; exhibitions open from time to time).
  • Bologna’s historic centre: the arcaded streets of one of Europe’s oldest universities.

Tips for your visit

Palazzo Poggi and the university library are on Via Zamboni in the city centre, an easy walk away. To see the manuscripts you may need to write to the library in advance. Check current opening times before you go.