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Supplementary Figure 5 from Oxygen Concentration Determines the Biological Effects of NOTCH-1 Signaling in Adenocarcinoma of the Lung

Supplementary Tables 1-2, Figures 1-8 from Opposite Effects of Notch-1 and Notch-2 on Mesothelioma Cell Survival under Hypoxia Are Exerted through the Akt Pathway

NOTCH signaling is an evolutionarily conserved signaling pathway that regulates cell fate during development and postnatal life. It has been increasingly linked to carcinogenesis, although its role in cancer seems to be highly context and tissue specific. Although NOTCH signaling is required for lung development, little is known about its role in lung cancer. In this study, we show that NOTCH signaling, as measured by the γ-secretase cleavage product NIC-1, is active in both normal human and lung tumor samples; however, downstream NOTCH readouts (i.e., HES-1 and HES-5) are elevated in lung tumors. Levels of NOTCH signaling components in primary human lung cells reflect observations in tissue samples, yet lung tumor cell lines showed little NOTCH signaling. Because oxygen concentrations are important in normal lung physiology and lung tumors are hypoxic, the effect of low oxygen on these lung tumor cell lines was evaluated. We found that hypoxia dramatically elevates NOTCH signaling (especially NOTCH-1) in lung tumor cell lines and concomitantly sensitizes them to inhibition via small-molecule γ-secretase inhibitors or NOTCH-1 RNA interference. γ-Secretase inhibitor–induced apoptosis of lung tumor cells grown under hypoxic conditions could be rescued by reintroduction of active NOTCH-1. Our data strengthen the role of NOTCH in lung cancer and as a therapeutic target for the treatment of lung and other hypoxic tumor types. [Cancer Res 2007;67(17):7954–9]

Supplementary Legends 1-5 and Table 1 Legend from Oxygen Concentration Determines the Biological Effects of NOTCH-1 Signaling in Adenocarcinoma of the Lung

Supplementary Table 1 from Oxygen Concentration Determines the Biological Effects of NOTCH-1 Signaling in Adenocarcinoma of the Lung

Supplementary Figure 3 from Oxygen Concentration Determines the Biological Effects of NOTCH-1 Signaling in Adenocarcinoma of the Lung

Supplementary Figure 2 from Oxygen Concentration Determines the Biological Effects of NOTCH-1 Signaling in Adenocarcinoma of the Lung

Supplementary Figure 4 from Oxygen Concentration Determines the Biological Effects of NOTCH-1 Signaling in Adenocarcinoma of the Lung

Supplementary Figure 1 from Oxygen Concentration Determines the Biological Effects of NOTCH-1 Signaling in Adenocarcinoma of the Lung

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Nel contributo viene pubblicato un inedito ritratto a matita di Jacopo Alessandro Calvi in collezione privata, che coglie di profilo lo scienziato Eustachio Zanotti; si avanza inoltre la proposta di riferire alla mano di Calvi il ritratto del medesimo astronomo conservato nelle collezioni universitarie di Palazzo Poggi, sulla base del confronto con un suo ulteriore ritratto a olio, sempre in collezione privata, giunto a noi attraverso gli eredi del pittore e dipinto in coppia con quello del padre di Calvi, il mercante di spezie Giuseppe Maria, grande amico dello scienziato. Il quadro in Palazzo Poggi è infatti attualmente in cerca d’autore, dopo una passata attribuzione al nome di Giampietro Zanotti, segretario dell’Accademia Clementina, padre di Eustachio oltre che maestro dello stesso Jacopo Alessandro. L’ipotesi attributiva amplia dunque l’attività nota di Calvi in veste di ritrattista, cui il pittore si dedicò molto raramente, ma che fu assai significativa per documentare gli interessi anche letterari coltivati dal giovane artista, e le sue frequentazioni accademiche e arcadiche., INTRECCI d'arte, Vol. 9 (2020)

Il contributo traccia sinteticamente la fortuna del tema iconografico della donna intenta alla scrittura, a partire dagli archetipi legati alla cultura classica, fino a giungere alle immagini emblematiche del Medioevo (la monaca, la mistica, le donne virtuose del De cleres et nobles femmes, ma anche l’allegoria della Grammatica e la raffigurazione della scrittrice Christine de Pizan) e dell’Età moderna (la Vergine come allieva di Anna o maestra di Gesù, il modello ideale della “donna di palazzo”, la compositrice e l’accademica, l’aristocratica o la borghese colte nell’atto di scrivere una lettera privata). Questo saggio non ha la pretesa di presentare una rassegna completa delle iconografie relative al rapporto fra donna e cultura scritta, ma di mostrare alcuni esempi emblematici, privilegiando per quanto possibile tre punti di osservazione: le testimonianze figurative in cui la figura femminile è colta nell’atto di scrivere, più che di leggere; le immagini in cui il testo manoscritto è reso fruibile alla lettura, in modo da esplicitare i contenuti ritenuti idonei all’occhio femminile; le opere dipinte da mano di donna, interessanti in quanto esito di un’ottica interna rispetto alla genesi di una coscienza di sé. The paper explores the meaning and role of the adoption of the iconographic motif of the woman in the act of writing in different contexts and ages, by outlining an overview starting with the archetypes related to classical culture, then examining the emblematic images created in the Middle Ages (not only the nun, the mystic, the virtuous women of De cleres et nobles femmes, but also the allegory of the Grammar and the representation of the writer Christine de Pizan), and concluding with the modern age cases (the Virgin as a pupil of Anna or teacher of Jesus, the ideal model of the “palace woman”, the composer, the academic, the aristocrat or the well educated middle-class woman while writing a private letter). This paper is not intended to present a complete overview of the iconographies concerning the relationship between woman and written culture, but to cast light on some emblematic examples, by giving priority as far as possible to three analysis themes: the figurative cases in which the female figure is caught in the act of writing rather than reading; the images in which the handwritten text is made visible in order to indicate the contents suitable for the female eye; the works painted by women artist, interesting as the result of an internal perspective connected with the emergence of a specific self-awareness.

Acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF) is a signal peptide-less protein that is secreted into the extracellular compartment as part of a multiprotein release complex, consisting of aFGF, S100A13 (a calcium binding protein), and a 40 kDa (p40) form of synaptotagmin (Syt1), a protein that participates in the docking of a variety of secretory vesicles. p40 Syt1, and specifically its C2A domain, is believed to play a major role in the non-classical secretion of the aFGF release complex mediated by the interaction of aFGF and p40 Syt1with the phospholipids of the cell membrane inner leaflet. In the present study, we investigate the structural characteristics of aFGF and the C2A domain of p40 Syt1 under acidic conditions, using a variety of biophysical techniques including multidimensional NMR spectroscopy. Urea-induced equilibrium unfolding (at pH 3.4) of both aFGF and the C2A domain are non-cooperative and proceed with the accumulation of stable intermediate states. 1-Anilino-8-napthalene sulfonate (ANS) binding and size-exclusion chromatography results suggest that both aFGF and the C2A domain exist as partially structured states under acidic conditions (pH 3.4). Limited trypsin digestion analysis and 1H-15N chemical shift perturbation data reveal that the flexibility of certain portions of the protein backbone is increased in the partially structured state(s) of aFGF. The residues that are perturbed in the partially structured state(s) in aFGF are mostly located at the N- and C-terminal ends of the protein. In marked contrast, most of the interactions stabilizing the native secondary structure are preserved in the partially structured state of the C2A domain. Isothermal titration calorimetry data indicate that the binding affinity between aFGF and the C2A domain is significantly enhanced at pH 3.4. In addition, both aFGF and the C2A domain exhibit much higher lipid binding affinity in their partially structured states. The translocation of the multiprotein FGF release complex across the membrane appears to be facilitated by the formation of partially structured states of aFGF and the C2A domain of p40 Syt1.

Thrombin induces cell proliferation and migration during vascular injury. We report that thrombin rapidly stimulated expression and release of the pro-angiogenic polypeptide fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1). Thrombin failed to induce FGF1 release from protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR1) null fibroblasts, indicating that this effect was dependent on PAR1. Similarly to thrombin, FGF1 expression and release were induced by TRAP, a specific oligopeptide agonist of PAR1. These results identify a novel aspect of the crosstalk between FGF and thrombin signaling pathways which both play important roles in tissue repair and angiogenesis.

S100A13 is a member of the S100 protein family that is involved in the copper-dependent nonclassical secretion of signal peptideless proteins fibroblast growth factor 1 and interleukin 1α. In this study, we investigate the effects of interplay of Cu2+ and Ca2+ on the structure of S100A13 using a variety of biophysical techniques, including multi-dimensional NMR spectroscopy. Results of the isothermal titration calorimetry experiments show that S100A13 can bind independently to both Ca2+ and Cu2+ with almost equal affinity (Kd in the micromolar range). Terbium binding and isothermal titration calorimetry data reveal that two atoms of Cu2+/Ca2+ bind per subunit of S100A13. Results of the thermal denaturation experiments monitored by far-ultraviolet circular dichroism, limited trypsin digestion, and hydrogen-deuterium exchange (using 1H-15N heteronuclear single quantum coherence spectra) reveal that Ca2+ and Cu2+ have opposite effects on the stability of S100A13. Binding of Ca2+ stabilizes the protein, but the stability of the protein is observed to decrease upon binding to Cu2+. 1H-15N chemical shift perturbation experiments indicate that S100A13 can bind simultaneously to both Ca2+ and Cu2+ and the binding of the metal ions is not mutually exclusive. The results of this study suggest that the Cu2+-binding affinity of S100A13 is important for the formation of the FGF-1 homodimer and the subsequent secretion of the signal peptideless growth factor through the nonclassical release pathway.

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF-1) lacks a signal sequence and is exported by an unconventional release mechanism. The nonclassical export of FGF-1 has been shown to be inhibited by an anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory drug, amlexanox (AMX). We investigate the molecular mechanism(s) underlying the inhibitory action of AMX on the release of FGF-1, using a variety of biophysical techniques including multidimensional NMR spectroscopy. AMX binds to FGF-1 and enhances its conformational stability. AMX binds to locations close to Cys30 and sterically blocks Cu(2+)-induced oxidation, leading to the formation of the homodimer of FGF-1. AMX-induced inhibition of the formation of the FGF-1 homodimer is observed both under cell-free conditions and in living cells. Results of this study suggest a novel approach for the design of drugs against FGF-1-mediated disorders.

Notch signaling involves proteolytic cleavage of the transmembrane Notch receptor after binding to its transmembrane ligands, Delta or Jagged; and the resultant soluble intracellular domain of Notch stimulates a cascade of transcriptional events. The Delta1 ligand also undergoes proteolytic cleavage upon Notch binding, resulting in the production of a free intracellular domain. We demonstrate that the expression of the intracellular domain of Delta1 results in a non-proliferating senescent-like cell phenotype which is dependent on the expression of the cell cycle inhibitor, p21, and is abolished by co-expression of constitutively active Notch1. These data suggest a new intracellular role for Delta1.

Non-classical protein release independent of the ER-Golgi pathway has been reported for an increasing number of proteins lacking an N-terminal signal sequence. The export of FGF1 and IL-1α, two pro-angiogenic polypeptides, provides two such examples. In both cases, export is based on the Cu2+-dependent formation of multiprotein complexes containing the S100A13 protein and might involve translocation of the protein across the membrane as a `molten globule'. FGF1 and IL-1α are involved in pathological processes such as restenosis and tumor formation. Inhibition of their export by Cu2+ chelators is thus an effective strategy for treatment of several diseases.

Newly synthesized proteins are usually exported through the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi due to the presence in their primary sequence of a hydrophobic signal peptide that is recognized by the ER translocation system. However, some secreted proteins lack a signal peptide and are exported independently of ER-Golgi. Fibroblast growth factor (FGF)1 is included in this group of polypeptides, as well as S100A13 that is a small calcium-binding protein critical for FGF1 export. Classically secreted proteins are transported into ER in their unfolded states. To determine the role of protein tertiary structure in FGF1 export through the cell membrane, we produced the chimeras of FGF1 and S100A13 with dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR). The specific DHFR inhibitor, aminopterin, prevents its unfolding. We found that aminopterin did not inhibit the release of FGF1:DHFR and S100A13:DHFR. Thus, FGF1 and S100A13 can be exported in folded conformation.

Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is a cancer of the lining of the lungs, heart, and intestine and is known to respond poorly to chemotherapy. Here we show that malignant mesothelial cells have an elevated Notch signaling pathway compared with normal human mesothelial cells. We studied the role of Notch in MM under normoxic and hypoxic conditions, the latter condition best recapitulating the MM microenvironment. Genetic and chemical modulation of the Notch pathway indicated that MM cells are dependent on Notch signaling. More specifically, this signaling was Notch-1 dependent as the result of its negative transcriptional regulation on phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN), which led to activation of the prosurvival phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway. Our study also provides evidence that whereas Notch-1 is elevated in the malignant setting, Notch-2 is diminished. This differential expression of the two Notch isoforms benefits cancer cell survival because reexpression of Notch-2 was toxic to MM cells. The mechanism of Notch-2 toxicity to MM cells countered that of Notch-1, as it was the result of positive transcriptional regulation of PTEN and inhibition of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. These results provide new insight into the role of Notch in MM and suggest that Notch pathway inhibitors may be useful in the treatment of this deadly disease. [Cancer Res 2008;68(23):9678–85]

Angiogenesis is controlled by several regulatory mechanisms, including the Notch and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling pathways. FGF1, a prototype member of FGF family, lacks a signal peptide and is released through an endoplasmic reticulum–Golgi-independent mechanism. A soluble extracellular domain of the Notch ligand Jagged1 (sJ1) inhibits Notch signaling and induces FGF1 release. Thrombin, a key protease of the blood coagulation cascade and a potent inducer of angiogenesis, stimulates rapid FGF1 release through a mechanism dependent on the major thrombin receptor protease-activated receptor (PAR) 1. This study demonstrates that thrombin cleaves Jagged1 in its extracellular domain. The sJ1 form produced as a result of thrombin cleavage inhibits Notch-mediated CBF1/Suppressor of Hairless [(Su(H)]/Lag-1–dependent transcription and induces FGF1 expression and release. The overexpression of Jagged1 in PAR1 null cells results in a rapid thrombin-induced export of FGF1. These data demonstrate the existence of novel cross-talk between thrombin, FGF, and Notch signaling pathways, which play important roles in vascular formation and remodeling.

NOTCH signaling is an evolutionarily conserved signaling pathway that regulates cell fate during development and postnatal life. It has been increasingly linked to carcinogenesis, although its role in cancer seems to be highly context and tissue specific. Although NOTCH signaling is required for lung development, little is known about its role in lung cancer. In this study, we show that NOTCH signaling, as measured by the γ-secretase cleavage product NIC-1, is active in both normal human and lung tumor samples; however, downstream NOTCH readouts (i.e., HES-1 and HES-5) are elevated in lung tumors. Levels of NOTCH signaling components in primary human lung cells reflect observations in tissue samples, yet lung tumor cell lines showed little NOTCH signaling. Because oxygen concentrations are important in normal lung physiology and lung tumors are hypoxic, the effect of low oxygen on these lung tumor cell lines was evaluated. We found that hypoxia dramatically elevates NOTCH signaling (especially NOTCH-1) in lung tumor cell lines and concomitantly sensitizes them to inhibition via small-molecule γ-secretase inhibitors or NOTCH-1 RNA interference. γ-Secretase inhibitor–induced apoptosis of lung tumor cells grown under hypoxic conditions could be rescued by reintroduction of active NOTCH-1. Our data strengthen the role of NOTCH in lung cancer and as a therapeutic target for the treatment of lung and other hypoxic tumor types. [Cancer Res 2007;67(17):7954–9]

Sphingosine kinase 1 catalyzes the formation of sphingosine-1-phosphate, a lipid mediator involved in the regulation of angiogenesis. Sphingosine kinase 1 is constitutively released from cells, even though it lacks a classical signal peptide sequence. Because copper-dependent non-classical stress-induced release of FGF1 also regulates angiogenesis, we questioned whether sphingosine kinase 1 is involved in the FGF1 release pathway. We report that (i) the coexpression of sphingosine kinase 1 with FGF1 inhibited the release of sphingosine kinase 1 at 37 degrees C; (ii) sphingosine kinase 1 was released at 42 degrees C in complex with FGF1; (iii) sphingosine kinase 1 null cells failed to release FGF1 at stress; (iv) sphingosine kinase 1 is a high affinity copper-binding protein which formed a complex with FGF1 in a cell-free system, and (v) sphingosine kinase 1 over expression rescued the release of FGF1 from inhibition by the copper chelator, tetrathiomolybdate. We propose that sphingosine kinase 1 is a component of the copper-dependent FGF1 release pathway., NIH grants HL67330 and HL60694 to TH and HL32348, HL 35627 and RR15555 (Project 4) to IP

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF)1 is released from cells as a constituent of a complex that contains the small calcium binding protein S100A13, and the p40 kDa form of synaptotagmin (Syt)1, through an ER-Golgi-independent stress-induced pathway. FGF1 and the other components of its secretory complex are signal peptide-less proteins. We examined their capability to interact with lipid bilayers by studying protein-induced carboxyfluorescein release from liposomes of different phospholipid (pL) compositions. FGF1, p40 Syt1, and S100A13 induced destabilization of liposomes composed of acidic but not of zwitterionic pL. We produced mutants of FGF1 and p40 Syt1, in which specific basic amino acid residues in the regions that bind acidic pL were substituted. The ability of these mutants to induce liposomes destabilization was strongly attenuated, and they exhibited drastically diminished spontaneous and stress-induced release. Apparently, the non-classical release of FGF1 and p40 Syt1 involves destabilization of membranes containing acidic pL.

Structural deformations of lipid hybrid bilayer membranes induced by signal peptideless (SPL) proteins have been studied for the first time using the inherently surface specific nonlinear optical technique of sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy. Specifically, deformations of 1,2-distearoylphosphatidylglycerol(DSPG) membranes induced by interaction with FGF-1, a SPL protein which is released asa function of cellular stress through a nonclassical pathway, have been investigated. FGF-1 was found to induce lipid alkyl chain deformations in previously highly ordered DSPG membranes at the extremely low concentration of 1 nM at 60 degrees C. The deformation process was shown to exhibit a degree of reversibility upon removal of the protein by rinsing with buffer solution.

Although the extravesicular p40 domain of the transmembrane protein, p65 synaptotagmin (Syt) 1, is essential for the non-classical export of the signal peptide-less structure, FGF1, it was not possible to identify a specific intracellular protease responsible for the processing of p65 Syt1. Surprisingly, analysis of the p65 Syt1 coding sequence revealed the presence of two potential alternative ATG codons corresponding to Met103 and Met113 both of which were flanked by Kozak sequences. Indeed, in vitro translation of a Met103Ile but not a Met113Ile p65 Syt1 point mutant exhibited reduced expression of p40 Syt1 and the double p65 Syt1 Met103Ile and Met113Ile point mutant was unable to translate the p40 Syt1 isoform. Since the expression of the p65 Syt1 double point mutant inhibited the stress-induced release of FGF1, it is likely that the alternative translation of the p65 Syt1 transcript at Met103 may be involved in the generation of intracellular p40 Syt1, a critical component of the FGF1 release pathway.

Copper is involved in the promotion of angiogenic and inflammatory events in vivo and, although recent clinical data has demonstrated the potential of Cu2+ chelators for the treatment of cancer in man, the mechanism for this activity remains unknown. We have previously demonstrated that the signal peptide-less angiogenic polypeptide, FGF1, uses intracellular Cu2+ to facilitate the formation of a multiprotein aggregate that enables the release of FGF1 in response to stress and that the expression of the precursor form but not the mature form of IL-1alpha represses the stress-induced export of FGF1 from NIH 3T3 cells. We report here that IL-1alpha is a Cu2+-binding protein and human U937 cells, like NIH 3T3 cells, release IL-1alpha in response to temperature stress in a Cu2+-dependent manner. We also report that the stress-induced export of IL-1alpha involves the intracellular association with the Cu2+-binding protein, S100A13. In addition, the expression of a S100A13 mutant lacking a sequence novel to this gene product functions as a dominant-negative repressor of IL-1alpha release, whereas the expression of wild-type S100A13 functions to eliminate the requirement for stress-induced transcription. Lastly, we present biophysical evidence that IL-1alpha may be endowed with molten globule character, which may facilitate its release through the plasma membrane. Because Cu2+ chelation also represses the release of FGF1, the ability of Cu2+ chelators to potentially serve as effective clinical anti-cancer agents may be related to their ability to limit the export of these proinflammatory and angiogenic signal peptide-less polypeptides into the extracellular compartment.

In this paper we show how an elementary machinery from game theory can grasp, in a partial but nevertheless significant way, some fundamental aspects of the social interaction behind the myth of the enemy, i.e., the social attitude that treats the Other as radically different and as a threat, excluding it from the social interaction itself and, at the same time, enhancing the symbolic value of this exclusion to reinforce one’s own identity and to justify difficult choices to be made in hard social games. The basic idea is that the exclusion of the Other expresses a symbolic value among similar agents and supports alternative criteria for the rational choice.

Nel saggio Spartakus. Simbologia della rivolta (pubblicato postumo nel 2000), il mitologo Furio Jesi ribaltava la classica svalutazione marxista della rivolta in subordine alla rivoluzione, descrivendo simboli e mitologemi che agiscono nei tentativi di rovesciamento del potere costituito. Jesi analizzava le componenti simboliche decantate in una situazione storicamente determinata - l’insurrezione spartachista fallita a Berlino nel 1919 - ma, riconoscendo la natura di epifania mitica dei tentativi insurrezionali, offriva spunti per l’analisi simbolica della rivolta che si prestano anche alle rappresentazioni artistiche. Una componente significativa è la demonizzazione del nemico. La raffigurazione orrorifica dei depositari del potere contro cui si combatte è per Jesi uno dei principali errori strategici commessi dai rivoltosi, poiché offusca la valutazione dei rapporti di forza e attribuisce al nemico un potere cui non si può che rispondere col sacrificio umano, votandosi ineludibilmente alla sconfitta. Un esempio di questa simbologia nella letteratura contemporanea è patente nel romanzo storico Qdi Luther Blissett (1999), ambientato nel Cinquecento delle rivolte contadine ed ereticali. In particolare si presta come case study l’episodio della rivolta della cittadina tedesca di Münster, dalla quale gli eretici anabattisti scacciano il vescovo-principe cattolico Von Waldeck. La liberazione si tramuterà però in una spietata dittatura teocratica, che demonizza l’alterità costruendo il mito di un mostruoso nemico interno da debellare. Verrà affrettato così il fallimento della rivolta e la repressione vescovile. Si cercherà dunque di applicare la riflessione di Jesi al romanzo, per comprendere come proprio la rappresentazione orrorifica del nemico sia la chiave di volta della vicenda münsterita. Nel momento in cui si segregano i nemici della comunità in rivolta dipingendoli come dei mostri, il mito di emancipazione che ha guidato l’insurrezione si sclerotizza in una narrazione identitaria non più inclusiva ma xenofoba. Questa degenerazione dell’epifania mitica segna ineluttabilmente il destino di sconfitta della rivolta.

In questo saggio si indaga sulla visione che le forze franchiste del nascente movimento nazionalcattolico avevano del loro nemico durante la guerra civile, cioè della II repubblica spagnola e di tutti coloro che in modi diversi e con diverse motivazioni tentarono di difenderla. A questo proposito, si prendono in considerazione alcuni scritti dell’epoca, di vario genere, in cui si evidenziano gli elementi più significativi utilizzati dai vincitori per forgiare in poco tempo un’immagine svilita e disumanizzata degli sconfitti, attraverso procedimenti che riscoprono ed elaborano teorie in parte già note e che coinvolgono i caratteri biopsichici degli individui, consentendo la creazione di un’idea pura del male attribuita all’altro e creando i presupposti della segregazione e dell'igiene razziale.

A cavallo tra Cinque e Seicento, mentre si afferma il viaggio di formazione alla volta dell’Italia lo sguardo dei viaggiatori inglesi volge verso oriente. Tra il 1591 e il 1595, Fynes Moryson esplora l’Europa continentale, diretto in Italia, e riparte pochi mesi dopo per il Mediterraneo orientale, facendo confluire entrambi i viaggi nel suo Itinerary (1617). Nel 1608 è Thomas Coryat a scendere in Italia – il risultato è Crudities (1611) – per poi ripartire nel 1612 verso Costantinopoli e l’India, dove muore nel 1617, dopo che le sue lettere sono state raccolte in Greetings from the Court of the Great Mogul (1616). Nel 1615 è intanto uscito A Relation of a Journey Begun An. Dom. 1610 di George Sandys, frutto di un viaggio nell’impero ottomano e nel sud Italia. Muovendo da questa vivace fase di esplorazioni, il presente saggio mette in relazione il viaggio in Italia e il viaggio in oriente per mostrare quanto siano complesse e frammentate nella prima età moderna le frontiere dell’alterità.

I analyse the perception, representation and transformations of the of the vision of China and its culture in Italy between the end of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century, taking into account few works of Italian scholars, translators, writers, journalists and military officials. I will discuss how the myth of the ‘Other’ was idealized, demonized and exploited in Italy and China, contending that Italy was not able to elaborate its own original vision of China in the epoch of colonial conquests. Referring to how China perceived Western culture as 'an undistinguished Other”, symbol of modernity and progress, I argue that the its introduction and assimilation in China was a Chinese conscious and deliberate choice to carry out a specific political programme, but it had to undergo a process of reshaping and Sinification, before it could be employed to transform and renew the celestial Empire in the last years of the Imperial regime.

Il contributo analizza la raffigurazione dei demonio nel ciclo di arazzi della chiesa di Montpezat de Quercy, in Francia. Si prende in considerazione la specificità delle iconografie che riguardano il Nemico per definizione nelle scene della Vita di San Martino, in relazione alle tematiche devozionali e teologiche, e alla funzione specifica di questa importante serie di arredo liturgico.

Muovendo dalla convinzione che l’identità sia un qualcosa ‘in divenire’ costruita non solo attraverso l’incontro/scontro con l’altro, ma grazie anche ad una continua performance che il soggetto assume a seconda dello spazio, privato o pubblico, che occupa e, come ci insegna oggi l’idea di intersezionalità, geopolitico a cui appartiene, il mio studio si interroga su come leggere oggi l’atteggiamento di alcune scrittrici nei confronti della rappresentazione dell’alterità in alcune delle sue diverse declinazioni. In particolare il contributo esplora come Aphra Behn e Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, tra la seconda metà del seicento (Behn) e le prime decadi del settecento (Montagu), dialogano con una produzione letteraria maschile, soprattutto quella dei resoconti di viaggio, dove, come ricorda Stephen Greenblatt il processo di “Self-fashioning”, dunque il modellamento e la costruzione dell’identità del soggetto, si ottiene solo “in relation to something perceived as alien, strange, or hostile […] that must be discovered or invented in order to be attacked and destroyed.” .Mi concentrerò sulla rappresentazione dell’Oriente esplorando alcuni esempi che riguardano la ri-mediazione e/o decostruzione di luoghi e tradizioni da sempre emblematiche di una sua visione monolitica: l’otan nella novella Oroonoko or the Royal Slave, significativamente indicata come ‘A True History’ di Behn (1688), ed il seraglio descritto nelle Turkish Embassy Letters di Montagu (composte tra il 1716-1718, ma pubblicate postume nel 1763). I 'luoghi' esplorati nel saggio non sono solo spazi che maggiormente esprimono la ricchezza, la sensualità, ma anche la crudeltà e il dispotismo ‘orientali’, riportati fin dai primi resoconti di viaggio, ma sono soprattutto luoghi in realtà proibiti allo sguardo dei viaggiatori e, per questo, spesso costruiti attraverso fantasie e dunque ‘racconti’ sulla (non) libertà, l’erotismo ed in generale la sessualità delle donne che vi sono rinchiuse. Al centro dell'indagine vi è quindi non solo il modo in cui queste due scrittrici, in quanto donne, partecipano ad una produzione letteraria che si fonda su stereotipi, binarismi e separatismi in parte già consolidati, quanto piuttosto se, e se sì come, i loro contributi si inseriscono in o, precedendola, complicano quella “set of references” o quel discorso culturale che, come ricordava Edward Said nel suo controverso studio sull’orientalismo, proprio a partire però dalla fine del settecento: “is less a place than a topos, […] that seems to have its origin in a quotation, or a fragment of a text, or a citation from someone’s work on the Orient, or some bit of previous imagining, or an amalgam of all these." Mi concentrerò sulla rappresentazione dell’Oriente esplorando alcuni esempi che riguardano la ri-mediazione e/o decostruzione di luoghi e tradizioni da sempre emblematiche di una sua visione monolitica: l’otan nella novella Oroonoko or the Royal Slave, significativamente indicata come ‘A True History’ di Behn (1688), ed il seraglio descritto nelle Turkish Embassy Letters di Montagu (composte tra il 1716-1718, ma pubblicate postume nel 1763)

International audience

Una piccola pala di Lavinia Fontana, resa nota nel 1990 ma non ancora confluita negli studi specifici sulla pittrice e fatta oggetto di un’approfondita lettura, offre l’occasione per osservare l’elaborazione linguistica messa a punto dall’artista per rispondere alla richiesta di immagini semplici nella forma ed esemplari nel contenuto, secondo le indicazioni emerse nel contesto tridentino. Nel rimeditare le proposte avanzate in ambito bolognese da Ludovico Carracci e Guido Reni, come già nella precedente Visione di San Giacinto per il cardinale Girolamo Bernerio (Roma, Santa Sabina, 1599-1600), la Fontana, poco prima del definitivo trasferimento a Roma (1603), raffigura San Domenico in contemplazione dinanzi alla Vergine che gli consegna il rosario; il dipinto testimonia la diffusione di un culto che riceve nuovo impulso dopo la battaglia di Lepanto (1571), divenendo strumento per la difesa della fede cattolica.

Il contributo si compone di due parti: la prima, di carattere storico, a firma di Serena Spanò Martinelli, la seconda, di carattere storico artistico, di Irene Graziani. Attraverso le testimonianze dei manoscritti e dei primi testi a stampa lo studio ricostruisce la fortuna del culto di Caterina Vigri (1413-1463), clarissa e fondatrice del monastero del Corpus Domini di Bologna, reputata santa già in vita, ma giunta all’onore degli altari solo nel 1712. In particolare, il contributo prende in considerazione, oltre alle prime copie manoscritte e a stampa delle Sette Armi Spirituali (trattato in forma autobiografica indirizzato dalla Vigri alle proprie consorelle), le prime biografie manoscritte e a stampa dedicate agli aspetti fondanti della spiritualità di Caterina, prodotte appositamente per diffonderne la devozione e per facilitare l’iter processuale della sua beatificazione e canonizzazione. Nella parte del saggio a firma di Graziani, l’autrice, ritornando sugli studi relativi all’iconografia della Vigri (2002 e 2004), amplia e approfondisce l’indagine sulle immagini miniate e a stampa, volte a fissare l’icona della “Santa” (monaca, mistica, scrittrice e miniatrice), adottando una metodologia critica attenta agli specifici percorsi di preghiera e contemplazione coltivati nell’ambito della vita delle comunità monastiche.

Il saggio, frutto di un lungo lavoro di ricerca e propedeutico a successivi interventi, dimostra il significato e il ruolo delle arti visive in quel lungo processo che dalla scoperta attraverso la conquista ha condotto all'invenzione dell'America. A partire dal 1493, ad una anno dall'arrivo di Colombo nel Nuovo Mondo, le stampe delle sue celebri Lettere hanno fortemente contribuito ad influenzare l'immaginario europeo sulle novità del continente altro; celebri artisti quali Durer furono coinvolti dalla spettacolarità ed eccellenza dei manufatti d'oltre Oceano, e altri - Bellini, Raffaello, Rubens - furono affascinati dalla alterità e lo dimostrarono in opere stupende. Altri vollero essere interpreti fedeli della realtà che conobbero dal vero; altri ancora, in primis William Blake, furono protagonisti della denuncia delle crudeltà commesse in mode della presunta superiorità degli europei. Va rilevato che l'arte visiva fu strumento per la conoscenza e poi per l'approccio empatico alla realtà del Mondo Nuovo forse in anticipo e certo con efficacia straordinaria rispetto alla politica e alla letteratura.