Map 1 **

Art and Architecture of the Medieval Mediterranean World

Digital Mediterranean Project


This assignment introduces you to ArcGIS StoryMaps, a web-based story-authoring application. You will conduct a digital scholarly investigation and embark on a virtual journey through the art and architecture of the medieval Mediterranean world. You will create and share a vibrant digital map filled with monuments and objects accompanied by narrative and analytical text, images, sources, videos, audio, and other multimedia content.

You will combine geographic visualization with historical analysis of artistic production and cultural interaction in the medieval Mediterranean. This assignment will deepen your understanding of the region’s interconnected histories and spatial relationships (location, direction, movement, size, and shape in a 3-dimensional reality). Your objective is to apply your course knowledge to create an engaging and interactive digital showcase that demonstrates artistic production and cultural interactions within the political, religious, and economic context of the medieval Mediterranean world.

You must choose five (5) locations out of fifteen (15) to set up your GIS map. You will place a monument or object at each location. Write your analytical text (metadata information) based on your research. Use at least two (2) peer-reviewed academic sources and two (2) citations for each location’s monument or object. You may also use your in-class lecture notes (since those are your own intellectual notes that can form part of your analytical text).

Locations include:

  • Constantinople
  • Cordoba
  • Outskirts of Cordoba (where Madinat al-Zahra is located)
  • Damascus
  • Eastern Jordan (where Qusayr Amra is located)
  • Jerusalem
  • Fustat (Old Cairo)
  • Palermo
  • Pisa
  • Ravenna
  • Majorca
  • Mecca
  • Saint Catherine (Mount Sinai; Sinai Peninsula)
  • Venice
  • Toledo (Spain)


This assignment consists of three (3) steps, each with its own deadline. The three steps are: Propose, Prepare, and Finalize. Please check your syllabus in Canvas for details and more information.

  1. The first step is to submit a proposal for your Digital Mediterranean final project. Please submit your visual analysis proposal as a Microsoft Word Document via Canvas by Friday, October 24, 2025, no later than 4:00pm.

  2. The second step is to prepare and submit a paper for your Digital Mediterranean final project. Please submit your visual analysis paper as a Microsoft Word Document via Canvas by Tuesday, December 9, 2025 no later than 4:00pm.

  3. The third and final step is to finalize and publish your Digital Mediterranean final project on ArcGIS StoryMaps. Please submit your ArcGIS StoryMap as a PDF file via Canvas by Wednesday, December 10, 2025 no later than 4:00pm.

** Oxford, Bodleian Library MS. Arab. c. 90: https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/748a9d50-5a3a-440e-ab9d-567dd68b6abb/