La Sacra Famiglia in Egitto. Pellegrini europei al Cairo tra XIV e XVI secolo. Una ricerca comparata tra fonti geografiche, liturgiche, odeporiche occidentali e orientali

After the fall of Acre the utterly unstable balance among European, Islamic and Oriental powers was reestablished on new grounds. Echoes of a new era can be recognized as early as the begin of the 14th century, when pilgrimages began to cover the so-called Egyptian Quests. This paper addresses two Egyptians holy places – the Holy Virgin cave in Saint Sergius Church at Cayro and the Balm Garden at Matarya – comparing Western, Coptic and Muslim sources. It also suggests the need of broadening the perspectives of the research from mere reading of pligrims’ reports to the study of other topics, such as Islamic Law and the economy of the Mediterranean basin. All this leads to realize that even miracles, legends, and the whole geography of the sacred objects are deeply influenced by historic developments.