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PILGRIM
This book describes the travels of Pietro de la Valle who was born in Rome in 1586 and whose travels took him to Constantinople, Asia Minor, Egypt, Palestine, Baghdad - where he married an Assyrian Christian in 1616 - and Persia. In 1621 he went from Ispahan to Shiraz and then the Gulf of Ormuz. Thereafter he travelled extensively in India, Cyprus, Malta and Sicily. In 1626 he came from Naples to Rome where he lived, fathering 14 sons, till he killed one of the Pope's servants, and had to flee the city. He died peacefully in 1652.
A member of a noble Roman family, Pietro della Valle began travelling in 1614 at the suggestion of a doctor, as an alternative to suicide after a failed love affair. The letters describing his travels in Turkey, Persia and India were addressed to this advisor.
A member of a noble Roman family, Pietro della Valle began travelling in 1614 at the suggestion of a doctor, as an alternative to suicide after a failed love affair. The letters describing his travels in Turkey, Persia and India were addressed to this advisor.
303 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1650
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February 20, 2016
One of the fascinating aspects of this 17th century travelogue is that the 12-year voyage of Pietro Della Valle to the Near East and beyond is today impossible to carry out by the ordinary tourist. He passes through territories made inaccessible by present-day wars and hostilities. Della Valle appears to have traveled out of pure curiosity and delight in reporting what he saw and heard, but he is no fool and does not let himself be duped - he thinks - by magic and superstition.
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