Relacja z poselstwa do Rzymu (1540-1541)

In 1540-1541 Jan Ocieski, the future chancellor of the Kingdom of Poland, travelled from Cracow to Rome, Naples and Bari, performing the office of royal envoy to Pope Paul III, in some highly delicate matters committed to him by the King Sigismundus I and the Queen Bona Sforza. His Latin diary, written day by day during the journey, has been preserved in the autograph version; although it has never been published in a critical edition so far, it is one of the most important primary documents concerning Polish-Italian relationships in the XVI century, being the very first account of a travel to Italy written by a Pole. Being a meticulous account of his démarche in the Roman curia, and - at the same time - a kind of a hand-book for the future envoys, Ocieski’s diary has all the attributes of an itinerary – a literary genre which would become widespread only at the end of the XVI century. That is the reason why it abounds with detailed practical information, proper for the best tourist guide, regarding, for example, the daily distances or the quality of streets, bridges and inns. The relation between Ocieski and the unknown reality he experiences during his trip, reflects the common intellectual horizon of a Pole, entirely formed in his homeland and making his first pilgrimage to the very centre of Renaissance civilization. Our traveller, unlike his contemporary Michel Montaigne, fails to notice, or disregards works of art, concentrating on the material culture instead. He is interested and attracted by every practical aspect of the reality he observes: the hospitals, cities’ fortifications, waterworks. He also registers Rome’s social, religious and everyday life, describing - for example - religious and folk ceremonies. Despite what some historians assert, Ocieski’s diary is thus not only a precious historical document: it is also an attempt to describe, and - in a sense - absorb a new and unknown reality. Ocieski, the renaissance traveller and the pragmatic, matter-of-fact minded statesman, moves through the wonderland showing no wonder, instead keeping his eyes wide open.