Riou, Stephen. Part of a tour in Greece, & other papers by SR, 1750-1778.
Title:
Part of a tour in Greece, & other papers by SR, 1750-1778.
Manuscript diary kept by Stephen Riou during his travels from Italy to Greece in 1753, together with additional letters, sketches and other papers tipped in, all (or most) in Riou's hand. The diary has a much corrected title page, reading: Itineral remarks from Italy to the Archipelago and Constantinople by sea and thence by land thro Romelia, Bulgaria, Servia, & Hungary to Vienna in the years 1753 & 1754, with designs. Despite the title, the diary covers Riou's travels only as far as the island of Delos, in Greece. The diary begins by recounting Riou's journey from Rome to Naples, where the ship he had originally intended to take was held up in quarantine. He makes the best of the delay in Naples by taking the opportunity to revisit some of the area's antiquities, in the company Charles Labelye (architect of Westminster Bridge) and a Thomas Barton, for whom Riou acts as a cicerone. The group thus visits Herculaneum, which is chiefly unexcavated at the time, apart from the theatre; Riou notes "the other parts of this subterranean city give no other idea than that of walking in the gallery of the mine". They also visit Posilippo, Vesuvius, Pozzuoli, Baiae, Monte Cuma, and Arco Felice. While still in Naples, Riou hears a church singing performance by the castrato Gaetano Caffarelli, and notes that "nothing can be more pathetic & graceful than his manner of warbling." On 13 April, Riou finally departs Naples for İzmir (Turkey), where he remains for four weeks and gives an account of a visit to a local dignitary. Here, he meets the antiquaries James Stuart and Nicholas Revett, who were returning to Athens, and decides to accompany them. A boat takes them to Nicosia and the diary ends with their departure from here for Delos. The designs promised in the title (although frequently mentioned in the text) are not included. The remainder of the volume (dated from 1750 to 1778) consists of tipped in letters, historical reflections, and a few sketches, all in pen and ink. In the first letter, dated 30 December 1750, Riou writes from Rome to his mother about the events of a trip to Italy. The next three letters (dated 1761-1762) are all addressed to his nephew, John Joseph Berons, and include assorted moral instructions, along with opinions on art, philosophy, and literature. The remaining letters and writings are miscellaneous and fragmentary, and include a note from the "Grand Signor, or Sultan of the Turk" granting Riou free passage in Turkey in 1753; an estimate of the manpower required for the defense of Plymouth by land and by sea; and some pen and ink sketches of coin designs, with wash. The remaining document of interest is a "Memorandum for a two years tour through France & to Italy, 1769", in which Riou advises an unnamed traveler on issues of transport, clothing, servants, luggage, and guide books. Clothes, Riou notes, "would be entirely a burden, as at Paris you must make up your gala or dress suits according to the season & the mode then reigning ...". The course of Riou's itinerary advises most of the most common destinations, including Normandy (one week), Paris (one month), Lyon, Geneva, Turin, Rome (for Carnival & Christmas), Naples, back to Rome (for Holy Week), Venice, and Florence.
ArchivalResource:
1 v. ([83] p.) : ill. ; 31 cm.
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