The Italian lodges in Turkey: between the strengthening of the Italian community and cosmopolitanism

Abstract

The Grand Orient of Italy has often crossed the Italian borders to found lodges in other countries. In this paper we describe and analyse the depth and impact of Italian Freemasonry in the Ottoman Empire, that after 1923 became the Republic of Turkey. What is of the utmost importance is the Italian tendency to mix with the local population to such an extent that the Italian community was not perceived as an alien body but rather as complementary part of the host country.