The image of Catholic ethnic Slavs originating from South East Europe in Early Modern Italy seems to oscillate between the idea of "undesired" economic and war immigrants pushed towards the Peninsula by Ottoman conquests and a myth of heroic Schiavoni/Illyrians as antemurale christianitatis. These preconceptions influence even the contemporary evaluation of analogue immigration issues as well as of historical processes that marked the area in question.
The aim of this panel is to question these notions through the study of the artistic production of Early Modern Schiavoni/Illyrian institutions in Italy, i. e. numerous confraternities and colleges spread throughout Italian urban centers, focusing on their efforts in the construction of the groups' cultural identity. We are particularly interested in the discussion of visual expressions of these endeavors, such as analysis of the architecture of buildings used by these institutions, as well as paintings and sculpture and other works of art commissioned by their members. We also welcome papers concerning the role and the background of prominent Schiavoni/Illyrians staying in Italy, their personal networking, alliances, loyalties or even distancing from "national" groups in question, showing the "software" of personal and group strategies in management of this possibly "difficult" identity.