Travels Into Dalmatia

by Alberto Fortis

Travels Into Dalmatia created a sensation across Western Europe when it was published in 1778: it reintroduced one half of the continent to its eastern neighbor. Italian abbe ALBERTO FORTIS (1655-1735) traveled through Dalmatia-today part of Croatia and Montenegro-and shared his observations on the natural history and culture of those unknown lands in letters to John Strange, the Bishop of Londonderry, and other clergy. Among the many extraordinary places he explores, customs he discusses, and oddities he comes across: . the islands of Ulbo and Selve . the city of Zara . Trajan's aqueduct . the castle of Urana . the ruins of Afferia . the superstitions of the Morlacchi . the noxious insects of Trau . meteors in the Primorie . the plants on the islands of Cherso and Osero . and much more. Students of natural history and the history of Eastern Europe will find this a fascinating work.

588 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1774

Reviews

[Eena]

Stekla sam dojam da tko god je proučavao Dalmaciju i njenu povijest, vrlo često je spominjao Alberta Fortisa i njegovu knjigu. Zbog toga sam imala visoka očekivanja od knjige, ali sam se malo razočarala.

Naime, za one koji to neznaju(dakle ja), Fortis je bio zaljubljenik u kamenje i svojevrstan geolog. Zbog toga je dobar dio knjige posvećen proučavanju kamenja, stijena, spilja, sastava tla...S aspekta osobe koja se ne kuži u te stvari, meni je bilo naporno pratiti sadržaj, a na momente u dosadno. Definitivno sam ju brže mogla pročitati.

Dijelovi gdje se priča o ljudima, kulturi i znamenitostima su bi bili super i njih sam brže prolazila, jer sam očekivala da će cijela knjiga biti takva.

P.S. Zanimljivost - ubačen je dio putopisa Antuna Vrančića (stric od nama puno poznatijeg Fausta), ali je najsmiješnije bilo čitati fusnote gdje se navodi kako je Antun krivo opisivao put jer je griješio u povijesnim lokacijama.

[Igor]

čitaj to, nemaš što razmišljati!

[omilojevic]

Interesantna knjiga iz koje se da mnogo toga novog saznati.

[Adam Geisler]

I appreciated the primary source account of what the Adriatic region was like 250 years ago. However, Fortis was a bit too pedantic and judgmental in his presentation.