Invitation to the Presentation of a Book on the Fourth Crusade by Dr Massimo Sbarbaro

The Institute for Historical Studies of ZRS Koper cordially invites you to the presentation of the book “La Quarta Crociata: i fatti e le narrazioni: Dal torneo di Ècry alla nascita dell’Impero Latino” (“The Fourth Crusade – from the knightly tournament at Écry to the establishment of the Latin Empire”) by Dr Massimo Sbarbaro.

The event will take place on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, at 6:00 PM, at the Centre for Humanities of ZRS Koper (Kreljeva 6).

The meeting is dedicated to a discussion of the sources and narratives of the Fourth Crusade (1199–1204), parallel testimonies, and the construction of memory surrounding the pivotal historical event addressed in the book.

Through a fundamental comparison of the most important contemporary and later sources, the book reconstructs the Fourth Crusade as a “polyphonic” narrative, in which convergences and divergences of narratives on the one hand, and silences on the other, become part of the historical interpretation. From the tournament at Écry to the establishment of the Latin Empire, each decisive step is presented through a comparison of Latin, Venetian, and Byzantine chronicles. Through the interpretation of these texts, we can understand why and how the expedition arrived in Constantinople. In this way, a story emerges that intertwines facts and constructions of memory, portraying the Crusade as an “engineering of opportunity.”

The introductory address will be given by Dr Tilen Glavina, Deputy Director of ZRS Koper, Head of the Institute for Historical Studies, and Head of the Centre for Humanities.

The discussion will be moderated by Dr Salvator Žitko and Dr Massimo Sbarbaro.