During the nineteenth century, an era characterized by the transport revolution and the growth of global connections, traveling became an increasingly mass experience. In this context, an aspect often overlooked by historiography is the development of pilgrimages to Palestine. This devout practice was favored both by the openings towards Europe operated by the Ottoman world, and by the growing interests in the Middle East of the European powers. If, therefore, for many European states, favoring and supporting the pilgrimages of their compatriots to Palestine became an instrument of foreign policy, the Italian case diverges due to the complex story that led to the national unification of the peninsula. For the Italian Catholic Church, in contrast to the newly formed unitary state, pilgrimages to Palestine represented not so much an opportunity for national affirmation as an experience of spiritual and cultural formation for the Catholic laity. The article, based on the diaries of the pilgrimages to Palestine made between the end of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth century by some significant personalities of the Italian Catholic Church (Vincenzo Vannutelli, Msgr. Bonomelli, Cardinal Andrea Ferrari and Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli) expose the meaning and perception of these particular travelers in an extraneous context. Palestine represented immersion in a context very different from the European one, appearing less affected by secularizing modernity. In this context, the pilgrimage was above all an opportunity to meet the "otherness" represented by Orthodox Christians, Muslims and Jews. In direct contact, in the personal meeting, grew the "culture of the other" which represented a crucial aspect in the history of the contemporary Catholic Church.

Del Zanna, G. A., Pellegrinaggi italiani in Palestina tra XIX e XX secolo, <<ROMISCHE HISTORISCHE MITTEILUNGEN>>, 2019; 61 (1): 163-176 [http://hdl.handle.net/10807/145138]

Pellegrinaggi italiani in Palestina tra XIX e XX secolo

Del Zanna, Giorgio Aldo
2019

Abstract

During the nineteenth century, an era characterized by the transport revolution and the growth of global connections, traveling became an increasingly mass experience. In this context, an aspect often overlooked by historiography is the development of pilgrimages to Palestine. This devout practice was favored both by the openings towards Europe operated by the Ottoman world, and by the growing interests in the Middle East of the European powers. If, therefore, for many European states, favoring and supporting the pilgrimages of their compatriots to Palestine became an instrument of foreign policy, the Italian case diverges due to the complex story that led to the national unification of the peninsula. For the Italian Catholic Church, in contrast to the newly formed unitary state, pilgrimages to Palestine represented not so much an opportunity for national affirmation as an experience of spiritual and cultural formation for the Catholic laity. The article, based on the diaries of the pilgrimages to Palestine made between the end of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth century by some significant personalities of the Italian Catholic Church (Vincenzo Vannutelli, Msgr. Bonomelli, Cardinal Andrea Ferrari and Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli) expose the meaning and perception of these particular travelers in an extraneous context. Palestine represented immersion in a context very different from the European one, appearing less affected by secularizing modernity. In this context, the pilgrimage was above all an opportunity to meet the "otherness" represented by Orthodox Christians, Muslims and Jews. In direct contact, in the personal meeting, grew the "culture of the other" which represented a crucial aspect in the history of the contemporary Catholic Church.
2019
Italiano
Del Zanna, G. A., Pellegrinaggi italiani in Palestina tra XIX e XX secolo, <<ROMISCHE HISTORISCHE MITTEILUNGEN>>, 2019; 61 (1): 163-176 [http://hdl.handle.net/10807/145138]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10807/145138
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