DALLE MARCHE ALL’EUROPA. IL DIARIO DI ELISABETTA BRUTI LIBERATI IN VIAGGIO PER LONDRA (1851)

Elisabetta Bruti Liberati’s journal is ambivalent in structure. On the one hand, it takes the form of a travel journal, attentive to the detailed description of places, things and customs. On the other hand, the diary is an egodocument and, as such, it is used here in order to understand the physiognomy and the mental habitus - which otherwise would be elusive - of Elisabetta Bruti Liberati, who is not seeking freedom in being elsewhere. She travels with two men at her side in the pursuit of both knowledge and leisure. She discovers a “new world” radically different from her own, not only in terms of the progress made in  material life (running water in houses, for instance), but also as regards customs and traditions: the education of children in England, the different role of women in the work world in France and England, and the respect for rules in Prussia. Consequently, her journey becomes a continuous and implicit comparison between the Marche region and Europe, which reinforces in Elisabetta the perception of her own identity as an Italian, but also as a woman who perceives and appreciates otherness and appreciates it, although she is satisfied with being who she is.