Claire Dillon
@clairedillon.bsky.social
Art historian of the medieval Mediterranean and its afterlives in the past, present, and future. Specialist in silk textiles and Sicily.
PhD Candidate @ Columbia / Fellow @ the American Academy in Rome
PhD Candidate @ Columbia / Fellow @ the American Academy in Rome
I'm honored to have contributed to "Speculations," the centennial issue of Speculum! My piece reflects on the cathedral of Mogadishu and what its legacy means for representations and research of Mediterranean connections, especially between Europe and Africa www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
January 4, 2026 at 1:23 AM
I'm honored to have contributed to "Speculations," the centennial issue of Speculum! My piece reflects on the cathedral of Mogadishu and what its legacy means for representations and research of Mediterranean connections, especially between Europe and Africa www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
My research on the Cathedral of Mogadishu was just featured in Geeska! In this interview, we explore how a medieval Sicilian cathedral inspired this Fascist-era monument, the hidden labor that built it, and the myth of “peaceful conquest” that its design embodied:
www.geeska.com/en/claire-di...
www.geeska.com/en/claire-di...
October 19, 2025 at 5:20 PM
My research on the Cathedral of Mogadishu was just featured in Geeska! In this interview, we explore how a medieval Sicilian cathedral inspired this Fascist-era monument, the hidden labor that built it, and the myth of “peaceful conquest” that its design embodied:
www.geeska.com/en/claire-di...
www.geeska.com/en/claire-di...
My article about the Cathedral of Mogadishu is free to read and download until October 22: online.ucpress.edu/jsah/article...
In this first comprehensive study of the monument, I argue that its neomedieval design conveys a coercive message of coexistence between the colonizer and the colonized.
In this first comprehensive study of the monument, I argue that its neomedieval design conveys a coercive message of coexistence between the colonizer and the colonized.
September 17, 2025 at 4:32 PM
My article about the Cathedral of Mogadishu is free to read and download until October 22: online.ucpress.edu/jsah/article...
In this first comprehensive study of the monument, I argue that its neomedieval design conveys a coercive message of coexistence between the colonizer and the colonized.
In this first comprehensive study of the monument, I argue that its neomedieval design conveys a coercive message of coexistence between the colonizer and the colonized.
You can read about my time at the American Academy in Rome in this recent interview, which covers everything from medieval silk to the archives of modern missionaries, and the connections that are formed when living among designers, makers, and artists.
www.aarome.org/news/feature...
www.aarome.org/news/feature...
March 13, 2025 at 1:28 PM
You can read about my time at the American Academy in Rome in this recent interview, which covers everything from medieval silk to the archives of modern missionaries, and the connections that are formed when living among designers, makers, and artists.
www.aarome.org/news/feature...
www.aarome.org/news/feature...