Geography, Race, and Nation, in Agostino Codazzi's Transatlantic Experiences (1793–1859)

Through the analysis of Agostino Codazzi's experiences in the Atlantic, this article aims at underlining the strong connection between Latin America and the Italian peninsula in the nineteenth century as well as his role in the emergence and development of geography. An officer in the Napoleonic army in Italy and later an exile in Latin America, Codazzi mapped the territories of Venezuela and New Granada (Colombia), arose from the dissolution of the Spanish monarchy, thusly contributing to the building of the new nation-states. The analysis will focus on a collection hold in the National Library of Turin, which is part of the material produced by the Chorographic Commission of New Granada between 1851 and 1859. This material will allow us to understand the Atlantic as a space of mutual connections and interdependencies between Europe and Americas in the elaboration and development of modern disciplines and sciences, such as geography, as well as in the construction of national imageries.