The “Orient” in Florence (19th Century). From Oriental studies to the collection of Islamic art, from a reconstruction of the “Orient” to the exotic dream of the rising middle class. . ORIENTE MODERNO, vol. 93, p. 3-31, ISSN: 0030-5472, doi: DOI: 10.1163/22138617-12340002

The second half of the 19th Century was in Florence a period of extraordinary and fruitful interest in the Oriental world when the philological and oriental studies were promoted. Thanks to the fervour of these studies, in 1878 Florence was designated to host the 4th Congress of the Orientalists. The “Orient” excited curiosity and collecting passion to such an extent that we could argue that the legacy of the magnificent Medicean collecting was inherited by the private middle-classes. Moreover, the new cultural context contributed to transforming the taste, it gave rise to new styles in architecture as well as in decoration and generally in the applied arts. After examining these topics, we will focus our attention on a little known fact that we could describe as the rebuilt “Orient” for entertainment, that is to say the Florentine Carnival in 1886, an event of the “disquieting” exoticism by which Europe represented the Islamic world.