Italy seen through the eyes of Anselmo Adorno. A Testimony of the Middle Ages

Abstract

Anselmo Adorno was one of the most prominent and influential men of Western Europe in the late Middle Ages in the area between Flanders, the Duchy of Burgundy and Scotland. Negotiator, wise, magistrate, Anselmo left us the journey report Itinerarium Terrae Sanctae Anselmi Adorni , written by his son Giovanni, a source of extraordinary wealth for the details and descriptions of places, customs and customs of the peoples of the eastern Mediterranean. Of particular interest is also the description of the cities, the urban and rural landscape, the routes that Adorno travelled in his journey between 1470 and 1471. The article will therefore take the moves from this precious testimony to describe the Italy visited by the pilgrim of Bruges, including Genoa, a family town of Rome, Brindisi and the Apulian cities of Naples, and the route that from the eternal city led to Venice, Cologne and finally to the West Flanders.