A letter that seems similar to many others can surprise and turn out to be something very special and interesting. Like this Sicilian letter of 1836 addressed to Verona.
The letter is addressed to a noblewoman from Verona, Countess Giulia Guarienti Buri, written by her son Girolamo. A private letter, a real family conversation.
Girolamo tells some days of his journey in Sicily, five days that describe the itinerary from Palermo to Girgenti; it seems written day by day, as if it were a diary.
There is the cholera epidemic of 1836 in northern Italy, the Sicilian people, the landscape, the antiquities and vegetation of the island, its roads, the uncomfortable ways of traveling at that time, the mail. He speaks of Palermo, Trapani, Castelvetrano, Marsala, Selinunte and Girgenti, a small Grand Tour of the island.
We do not know if Count Buri had a business motive for undertaking a trip to Sicily, or if he was moved only by a desire for knowledge and adventure.... Certainly, even the letter lived its little great adventure, taking a total of twenty days to reach its destination, between land and sea. Much longer than it would take a post to arrive today, but certainly with a different experience on the part of the recipient...