Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.21857/9e31lhzr6m
The journey through the Ottoman Empire by the Venetian dragoman Giovanni Battista Calavrò-Imberti of 1761
Milorad Pavić
; Department of history, University of Zadar, Zadar, Croatia
*
Marin Banović
; Department of history, University of Zadar, Zadar, Croatia
*
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
In 1761, Giovanni Battista Calavrò-Imberti wrote a travelogue under the title Diario di Viaggio, in which he described the journey through the Ottoman Empire between Constantinople and the island of Tenedos. The journey was organised within the context of introducing the bailo in service in Constantinople. Bailo was the highest Venetian diplomatic representative in the relations with the Ottoman Empire, whilst the dragomans were the most responsible members of his staff. In addition to being translators and interpreters for oriental languages, they often autonomously communicated with the Ottoman officials in the field. The dragoman family Calavrò-Imberti marked the second half of the 18th century through their operation. One of the members of this dragoman family, Giovanni Battista, merely an apprentice (giovane di lingua) at the time, participated in 1761 in the entourage of the newly-appointed bailo from Tenedos to Constantinople, and left a manuscript writing in the form of travelogue witnessing these events. In the first part of the paper, the dragoman family Calavrò-Imberti were presented through the service rendered by their members – first the father Marino, and later his sons – twin brothers Giovanni Battista and Cosimo. Next, the issue of the authorship of the Diario was problematized, as a result of which the work was argument-based attributed to Giovanni Battista, and not Cosimo, as historiography sources had previously wrongly stated. Following, the circumstances under which the travelogue itself had been composed were analysed, primarily through the prism of functional diplomatic relations between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire. In conclusion, the subject journey was examined. As the famous Ruđer Bošković of Dubrovnik partook in this journey too, the travelogue bears witness to that part of the life and work of one of the greatest minds of the world.
Keywords
travelogue; dragomans; Calavrò-Imberti; 18th century; Ottoman Empire
Hrčak ID:
325112
URI
Publication date:
18.12.2024.
Visits: 51 *