Omne malum ab Aquilone: Images of the Evil North in Early Modern Italy and their Impact on Cross-Religious Encounters

The notion of the North as evil was invoked throughout the early modern period in Italy and clearly impacted North–South encounters, in particular after the Reformation. These encounters should, of course, be further explored, particularly in uncovering the presumptions and concepts of both the North and South made visible in the encounters, and the parallels and reversed con- ditions in Italy and Sweden at the time. we have shown that the North was characterized as evil by Italians, but how were these deeply rooted notions used more concretely in religion and politics, and how did they affect relationships and encounters? what was permitted and what was forbidden in contacts? Deterrent, moralizing, artistically inspiring, or a scapegoat for things gone bad: the evil qualities of the North through history as we have seen are multiple and complex, but perhaps most of all — they have proven useful.