{"id":5698,"date":"2025-11-04T16:11:01","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T15:11:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bibliotecanazionalemarciana.cultura.gov.it\/senza-categoria\/fondo-tursi-sul-viaggio-in-italia\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T16:53:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T14:53:07","slug":"tursi-collection-on-travel-in-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bibliotecanazionalemarciana.cultura.gov.it\/en\/bequests-and-collections\/tursi-collection-on-travel-in-italy\/","title":{"rendered":"Tursi Collection on Travel in Italy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Biographical overview<\/h3>\n

1968: Tursi (approximately 15,000 volumes by foreign travellers in Italy)<\/h4>\n

Angiolo Tursi (Taranto 1885 \u2013 Venice 1977), after completing his law studies in Rome, arrived in Venice as a young artillery officer during the First World War.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Venice he devoted himself to humanistic studies, establishing contacts with leading figures in the city\u2019s cultural milieu.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1930 he undertook the monumental project of collecting writings by foreign travellers to Italy\u2014a lifelong enterprise that absorbed the greater part of his intellectual energies.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the Second World War he joined the National Liberation Committee (Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale<\/em>, CLN). Captured and subjected to prolonged torture by the Nazi-Fascists, he resisted without revealing the names of the leaders of the Venetian Resistance, becoming a symbol of moral fortitude for the city.<\/span><\/p>\n

After the war he briefly held political office, withdrawing from public life in 1949.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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the 17 classes of the tursi collection\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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misc. tursi a ritagli<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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\"Tursi\"<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The donation <\/h5>

In 1968, Angelo Tursi donated his collection to the Biblioteca Marciana, dedicating it to the memory of his wife and son, who had died prematurely.<\/span><\/p>\n

The collection entered the Library on 31 May 1968 and is regarded as the richest and most comprehensive archive devoted to \u201ctravel in Italy\u201d currently in existence.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

Extent (25,000 titles) and composition<\/h5>

The Tursi Collection comprises approximately 25,000 titles<\/strong>, together with watercolours, engravings, and drawings depicting Italian landscapes and monuments.<\/p>\n

Tursi organised the material into 17 categories,\u00a0corresponding to different types of travellers and to both real and imaginary journeys in the Bel Paese<\/em>. These categories span virtually all fields of knowledge, reflecting the breadth and interdisciplinary nature of travel literature relating to Italy.<\/p>\n

Outside these 17 categories is the Miscellanea <\/em><\/strong>category: a substantial body of heterogeneous material (loose sheets, newspaper clippings, offprints, and similar items) gathered and used by Tursi over the course of his long research. This material constitutes an essential tool for the study and interpretation of the collection as a whole.<\/p>\n

A distinct section is formed by the Rari<\/strong>: a collection of more than 600 volumes that Angiolo Tursi regarded as the most valuable items in his library, including several manuscripts.<\/p>\n

The collection is further complemented by the Bibliografia ragionata dei viaggiatori stranieri in Italia<\/em> (Annotated Bibliography of Foreign Travellers in Italy), an extensive catalogue comprising approximately 80,000 entries arranged alphabetically by travellers\u2019 names. It may be consulted upon request in the Library.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

Inventories and catalogues<\/h5>

All volumes in the collection have been catalogued and are searchable in both the paper and electronic catalogues of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Misc. Tursi Ritagli<\/em><\/strong>, not individually described in the catalogues, are accompanied by a dedicated subject index printed in booklet form, available under the shelfmarks CONS. CAT. MSS. MARC. 0034<\/strong><\/em> and LEO. D. 4076<\/strong><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

A selection of works from the collection is presented in Viaggiatori stranieri in Italia: Fondo Tursi<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Further reading<\/h4>\n