«How I portrayed it as natural». The Southern Italy between Sketches and Descriptive Notes in the Chronicle of Journey by Jérome Maurand (1544)

Abstract

In 1544 the Provencal priest Jérome Maurand traveled on French galleys following the Ottoman fleet commanded by Khair-ad-din known as Barbarossa. Of this trip, which lasted about six months, he wrote an accurate manuscript account, containing the narration of events, including the assaults of the Ottoman army to the Spanish territories in Italy, but also the description of lands and cities observed during the voyage. Maurand produces for many of these "natural views", among which are significant those related to the southern Italy. In fact, for these regions, compared to a few cities for which there is a very large figurative and descriptive repertoire, there are almost unknown places. These sites are far from the usual itinerary and routes, for which the view - at least until the explosion of interest in the Grand Tour - is rare or even nonexistent, so that every new contribution proves significant in terms of documentary testimony.