The Grand Tour

Travel Writing. 1700-1830. An anthology, editat per Elisabeth A. Bohld i Ian Ducan (Oxford University Press) es una antologia de la literatura de viatges, que recull tambe diaris de viatgers a Irlanda, Africa, Carib, America, Australia, a les missions i els comerc d'esclaus.

Des de mitjans del segle setze, els joves aristocrates anglesos continuaven els estudis a l'Europa continental, pricipalment a Franca, Italia i Grecia. The Grand Tour era tota una institucio. Molts d'aquests aristocrates publicaven les seves experiencies a The Spectator o The Gentleman's Magazine. Lawrence Sterne fou un dels precursos d'aquest genere literari amb A sentimental journey through France and Italy De moment he parat mes atencio en Joseph Addison. De viatge de Roma a Napols, deixa constancia de la bellesa del pais, la pobresa de la poblacio local i la perplexitat de les institucions i cerimonies catoliques. I tambe de la forma de govern dels princeps:

"Naples. My first days at Naples were taken up with the sights of processions, which are always very magnifient in the Holly Week. It would be tedious to give an account of the several representations of our Saviour's death and resurrections, of the figures of himself, the Blessed Virgin, and the Apostles, wich are carried up and down on this occassion, with the cruel penances that several inflict on themselves, and the multitude of cerimonies that attend these solemnities. I saw, at he same time, a very splendid procession for the accession of the Duke of Anjou to the Crown of Spain, in which the Vice-Roy bore his part at the left hand of Cardinal Cantelmi. To grace the parade, the exposed, at the same time, the blood of Saint Januarius, which liquefied at the approach of the Saint 's head, though, as they say, it was hard congealed before (...). Joseph Addison, Remarks on Several Parts of Italy in the yeras 1701, 1702, 1703"