Discovering the Mediterranean : Itineraries of travellers between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries in Abruzzo Region

The paper reconstructs some of the Grand Tour itineraries covered between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by intellectuals visiting the Abruzzo region, one of the "last unknown lands, far from the classic itineraries and avoided even by the most curious and courageous travellers" (Piccioni, 1998, p. 341). The production of a map and the reconstruction, in a historical perspective, of the way this part of Italy was conceived, of the landscape and of the population of the internal areas of the region aims at a better understanding of the current situation, characterised by the abandonment of many of the areas described by travellers in past centuries. The essay also takes a look at some of the changes which the landscape has undergone over the years by comparing the illustrations and descriptions of earlier travellers with contemporary photos and views, in order to highlight the effects caused, and still being caused by the marginalization of these areas. Finally, the question is raised as to the sense and purpose of proposing a network of itineraries which, by retracing the footsteps of the Grand Tour journeys in Abruzzo, would enable tourists and inhabitants to rediscover places full of significance.