Petrarch's Guide to the Holy Land: Itinerary to the Sepulcher of Our Lord Jesus Christ = Itinerarium Ad Sepulchrum Domini Nostri Yehsu Christi

Rating:
Summary: weentsy travelogue
Review: This volume is completely gorgeous. The editor, Theodore Cachey, Jr., has written an insightful introduction to the letter of Petrarch, situating both the text and its reception within the tradition of travel writings. The majority of Petrarch's letter describes Italian tours rather than the Holy Land. The letter itself is a marvellous description of a tour, replete with poetic, religious, and mythological citation, that Petrarch was invited to make but opted out of on account of a fear of sea-sickness. Included in the volume on the left side of each page is a reproduction (photographed, I assume) of Latin script of the "Itinerary" from 1358 (not by Petrarch's own hand, however). Below these handsome brown reproductions is a smaller and clearer version of the Latin in the reproductions. Facing, on the right side of each page, is a bright translation of the Latin letter. It is marvellous to behold the careful and thorough nature of a text that is often considered a minor work. Surely, it is small, but delightful too. The final section of the volume includes ample annotation of the text and a list of Petrarch's works.