The Royal Society and the discovery of the two Sicilies : southern routes in the Grand Tour

Description

This book illuminates a lesser-known aspect of the British history of travel in the Enlightenment: that of the Royal Society’s special contribution to the “discovery” of the south of Italy in the age of the Grand Tour. By exploring primary source journal entries of philosophy and travel, the book provides evidence of how the Society helped raise the Fellows’ curiosity about the Mediterranean and encouraged travel to the region by promoting cultural events there and establishing fruitful relations with major Italian academic institutions. They were especially devoted to revealing the natural and artistic riches of the Bourbon Kingdom from 1738 to 1780, during which the Roman city of Herculaneum was discovered and Vesuvius and Etna were actively eruptive. Through these examples, the book draws attention to the role that the Royal Society played in establishing cultural networks in Italy and beyond. Tracing a complex path starting in Restoration times, this new insight into discourse on learned travel contributes to a more challenging vision of Anglo-Italian relations in the Enlightenment. Read more... Abstract: This book illuminates a lesser-known aspect of the British history of travel in the Enlightenment: that of the Royal Society's special contribution to the "discovery" of the south of Italy in the age of the Grand Tour. Read more... Front Matter ....Pages i-xvii Introduction (Manuela D’Amore)....Pages 1-28 Front Matter ....Pages 29-29 The Fellows’ Letters from Distant Countries: New Science, the “Other” and Imperialism (Manuela D’Amore)....Pages 31-59 News from the Mainland: Mapping Physical and Intellectual Spaces Before the Grand Tour (Manuela D’Amore)....Pages 61-83 On the Ancients and the Power of Nature: The Special Case of Italy (Manuela D’Amore)....Pages 85-109 Front Matter ....Pages 111-111 Southern Paths for Learned Travellers: The Discovery of Herculaneum and of the Neoclassical Mediterranean (Manuela D’Amore)....Pages 113-145 Images of Sublime Sicily (Manuela D’Amore)....Pages 147-171 From Letters to Memoirs and Travel Accounts: The Fellows as “Cultural Mediators” (Manuela D’Amore)....Pages 173-197 Back Matter ....Pages 199-314