This is the first anthology of British travel writing on Italy which traces the development of the genre and the history of the British perception of Italy from the Renaissance to the present. As an anthologie raissonnée it presents the texts in thematic clusters and chronological order, providing commentary and annotations for each of them and their nearly hundred authors (some of them, like Smollett, Byron, Dickens or Huxley, well-known, others virtually unknown, amongst them many unduly neglected women writers). Further features are a substantial introduction to the travelogue and the writing of Italy, more than thirty illustrations visualizing the British experience of Italy, and an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources.
Contents: I. Introduction. 1. "Theoria: To Go Abroad to See the World". 2. Anthologizing Italy. 3. Surveying the Anthology. 4. Thanks and Acknowledgements. II. Illustrations. III. Anthology. 1. Crossing the Alps and Arriving. 2. Il Giro d'Italia and Other Routes. 3. On the Road: The Hazards of Travelling. 4. The Perception of Otherness. 4.1 The Classical Heritage. 4.2 Arts and Learning. 4.3 Religious Difference. 4.4 Government and Politics. 4.5 Social and Sexual Manners. 4.6 National Character. 4.7 Nature. 5. Italian Cities. 5.1 Venice. 5.2 Florence. 5.3 Rome. 5.4 Naples. 6. Off the Beaten Tracks and the Mezzogiorno. IV. Reference and Notes. V. Gazetteer of Travellers. VI. Bibliography. 1. Bibliographical Reference. 2. Anthologies. 3. History and Modes of Travelling. 4. Women Travellers. 5. Travel Writing: General. 6. British Travelling in Italy, Travel Writing on Italy, and Cultural Traffic with Italy. 7. Some Non-British and Visual Traditions. 8. Further Post-1860 British Travelogues on Italy.
Contents: I. Introduction. 1. "Theoria: To Go Abroad to See the World". 2. Anthologizing Italy. 3. Surveying the Anthology. 4. Thanks and Acknowledgements. II. Illustrations. III. Anthology. 1. Crossing the Alps and Arriving. 2. Il Giro d'Italia and Other Routes. 3. On the Road: The Hazards of Travelling. 4. The Perception of Otherness. 4.1 The Classical Heritage. 4.2 Arts and Learning. 4.3 Religious Difference. 4.4 Government and Politics. 4.5 Social and Sexual Manners. 4.6 National Character. 4.7 Nature. 5. Italian Cities. 5.1 Venice. 5.2 Florence. 5.3 Rome. 5.4 Naples. 6. Off the Beaten Tracks and the Mezzogiorno. IV. Reference and Notes. V. Gazetteer of Travellers. VI. Bibliography. 1. Bibliographical Reference. 2. Anthologies. 3. History and Modes of Travelling. 4. Women Travellers. 5. Travel Writing: General. 6. British Travelling in Italy, Travel Writing on Italy, and Cultural Traffic with Italy. 7. Some Non-British and Visual Traditions. 8. Further Post-1860 British Travelogues on Italy.