Oltre i confini della letteratura di viaggio

The two-volume anthology of Italian travel writing, Scrittori italiani di viaggio (2008, 2013), edited by Luca Clerici and published in Mondadori’s series “I Meridiani”, had a mixed reception. Volume I (1700-1861) was widely praised, whereas Volume II (1861-2000) was much criticized. These different responses sug-gest that many scholars and reviewers consider travel literature as of interest only when produced by well-known writers. However, the specific characteristics of the genre imply a wider horizon, which includes travelers from all kinds of backgrounds, and greatly different works. In fact, literary travel narratives are only one type of “odeporic” literature, which consists of many subgenres developing through the cen-turies as a consequence of the widening of the reading public and the increase in the number of travelers, in the general process of democratization.Both volumes of Scrittori italiani di viaggio were based on the premise that it is necessary to widen the perspective on travel writing in its many forms, taking into account works addressed to a sophisticated public as well as those intended for common readers.