In Magna Armenia: appunti sugli Armeni nella Caffa del XIV secolo

The Armenian population was qualita- tively and quantitatively relevant in Caffa, the Genoese colony on the Black Sea, between the XIVth and the XVth centuries. The present contribution attempts to focus on this Armenian presence, analysing briely its position within the colony and then examining a few data left by the Armenian themselves in the colophons of manuscripts written in Caffa. The aim is to lay the foundations for an updated research on the Armenian presence in Caffa: irstly, by investigating the reasons and the ways by which this commercial hub on the Black Sea became the destination of such a numerous Armenian population; secondly, by searching the colophons for information about the religious tensions that divided the Armenians who saw with favour a union with the Roman Church and those who instead defended the independence of the Armenian Church.