ABSTRACT

This chapter examines Pietro Della Valle's travel narratives related to his visit to Istanbul (1614– 1615) during his voyage to the Ottoman Empire, Persia, and India. It focuses on the Ottoman capital; its architecture, including mosques, mausoleums, palaces, and kiosks related to the sultans and dignitaries that Della Valle covered extensively in his travel accounts; as well as other “curiosities.” Della Valle's self-fashioning through his pilgrimage of curiosity reveals the identity and the milieu of this Roman nobleman who styled himself as il pellegrino (the pilgrim). His travel to Turkey in the early seventeenth century coincided with the reign of Sultan Ahmed I, a time when Europe and the Ottoman Empire were redefining their relationship. Published in the 1650’s, Della Valle's Viaggi, describing his travels, was widely disseminated throughout Europe. The essay analyzes how Della Valle connected the European/ Italian and Ottoman worlds through myriad boundary crossings as a cultural mediator, translator, and transmitter during a time of transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque age. The chapter's conclusion suggests that Della Valle's travel accounts not only communicated the Ottoman World to European audiences of his time but also played a significant role in shaping European perception of the Ottoman Empire in the eighteenth century, before the introduction of Orientalism.

Keywords: Pietro Della Valle, travel, curiosity, Istanbul, cultural transitions

In memory of Semra Germaner (1944– 2015)

DURING HIS TRAVELS extending from the Ottoman Empire to Persia and India, aristocrat and traveller Pietro Della Valle (1586– 1652) spent more than a year, from August 15, 1614 to September 25, 1615, in Istanbul. Della Valle's detailed letters recounting his travels began to be published during the second half of the seventeenth century and were disseminated in Europe rapidly. Della Valle's Viaggi, relating his travels in the Ottoman Empire, Persia, and India was printed in Italian in Rome in 1650– 1663 with the note “con licenza de’ Superiori” (permitted to be published). This book was later translated to French (1661– 1663), Dutch (1664– 1665), and German (1674). Viaggi's sections covering Della Valle's travels to India and accounts related to his return to Italy were translated to English (1664).