Peregrinagia maritima tra Mediterraneo e Atlantico: rotte, paesaggi e geografia sacra nelle fonti nautiche del medioevo

Abstract

The ‘maritime space’ in the collective imagination and the real experience has taken on
various meanings and values in different eras and geographical contexts. Through the
analysis of a particular type of source, those closely related to the nautical environment,
such as portolan charts, navigation guides, travel diaries and crusades chronicles, one can
investigate how the maritime space and its landings, starting from the 12th-13th century,
took on a particular religious significance. These writings, in fact, beyond the technical and
practical purposes that characterize them, can offer useful elements to explore the religious
dimension of Mediterranean and Atlantic navigation, thanks to the presence of references to
a geography that can be defined as ‘sacred’.

Key-words: maritime space, portolan charts, navigation guides, travel diaries, crusades
chronicles.