Geographic memories in travelogue literature: The Australian social landscape in the writings of Italian travelers

Travelogue literature represents a valuable source for the study of knowledge acquisition and geographic thought, as well as for the description of territories. The interest in voyage narratives is even more evident when it pertains to distant countries of difficult accessibility, as Australia, whose physical and human environments are so far from Italy. Travel accounts that reveal the experiences of Italian voyagers from different cultural and social backgrounds offer images of the Newest Continent during the first half of this century and allow to discern the main points towards which the attention of these travellers was directed. Particular consideration was given to the peculiar and antithetic traits of the Australian social landscapes: the solitude and vastness of the rural world, the dynamic pulse of urban life. These vivid representations enrich terse geographical descriptions and provide evocative suggestions of undeniable scientific value.