The interior of the Pantheon in the 18th century, painted by Giovanni Paolo Panini

The Grand Tour was an upper-class European travel itinerary that flourished from about 1660 until the arrival of mass rail transit in the 1840s. The Pantheon ( Latin Pantheon, from Greek Πάνθειον Pantheon, meaning "Temple of all the gods" is a building in Rome Giovanni Paolo Pannini or Panini ( June 17 1691 &ndash Rome, October 21 1765) was an Italian painter and According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term was coined by Richard Lassels (c 1603-1668), an expatriate Roman Catholic priest who wrote The Voyage of Italy, which was published posthumously in Paris in 1670 and then in London. An expatriate (in abbreviated form expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing ^[1] Lassels' introduction classed the four departments in which travel furnished "an accomplished, consummate Traveller": intellectually, socially, ethically, by the opportunity of drawing moral instruction from all the traveller saw, and politically. The Grand Tour served as an educational rite of passage for males of the British nobility and wealthy gentry, whose address among their entourage made "Milord" a French and Italian byword for any British gentlemen. A rite of passage is a Ritual that marks a change in a person's social or sexual status Gentry generally refers to people of high Social class, especially in the past In the nineteenth century milord (also milor) was well-known as a word which Continental Europeans (especially French whose jobs often brought them into contact Similar trips were made by the wealthy of other Protestant Northern European nations; in general, the French looked to the salons of Paris and the court of Versailles instead, to provide a cultured polish to its gilded youth and reinforce standards of taste. A salon is a gathering of stimulating people of quality under the roof of an inspiring hostess or host partly to amuse one another and partly to refine their taste and increase their knowledge through Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city The Palace of Versailles, or simply Versailles, is a royal Château in Versailles, in France 's Île-de-France region The primary value of the Grand Tour lay in the exposure both to the cultural artifacts of antiquity and the Renaissance and to the aristocratic and fashionable society of the European continent. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere A grand tour could last from several months to several years. It was commonly undertaken in the company of a knowledgeable guide.

The far from superficial cultural importance of the Grand Tour can be underestimated by those who have not absorbed E. P. Thompson's often-quoted assertion that "ruling-class control in the eighteenth century was located primarily in a cultural hegemony, and only secondarily in an expression of economic or physical (military) power. Hegemony (hɨˈdʒɛməni (Amer /hɨˈɡɛməni/ (Brit (ἡγεμονία hēgemonía) is a concept that has been used to describe and explain the dominance of one social "^[2]

Published accounts

For the modern historian and the contemporary reading public, published accounts of personal experiences on the Grand Tour provide illuminating detail, and a freshness of first-hand experience. Of some published (and polished) tour accounts offered in their own lifetimes, Jeremy Black^[3] detects the element of literary artifice in these and cautions that they should be approached as travel literature rather than unvarnished accounts; he instances Joseph Addison, John Andrews,^[4] William Beckford, William Coxe,^[5] Elizabeth Craven,^[6] John Moore, tutor to successive dukes of Hamilton,^[7] Samuel Jackson Pratt, Tobias Smollett, Philip Thicknesse,^[8] and Arthur Young. Travel literature is Travel writing considered to have value as Literature. Joseph Addison (May 1 1672 – June 17 1719 was an English essayist and Poet. William Beckford may refer to William Beckford (politician (1709-1770 English business person William Beckford of Somerley (died William Coxe ( March 17, 1747 - June 8, 1828) English Historian, son of Dr Elizabeth Craven ( née Lady Elizabeth Berkeley) ( 17 December 1750 - 13 January 1828) Princess Berkeley (though Tobias George Smollett (bapt 19 March, 1721 &ndash 17 September, 1771) was a Scottish author best known for his Picaresque Captain Philip Thicknesse (1719 &ndash 23 November 1792 was a British author eccentric and friend of the artist Thomas Gainsborough. Arthur Young ( September 11, 1741 - April 12, 1820) was an English writer on Agriculture, Economics and

Travel itinerary

The most common itinerary of the Grand Tour^[9] shifted from generation to generation in the cities it embraced but invariably began in Dover, England, and crossed the English Channel to Calais in France. Dover is a town and major ferry port in the county of Kent, England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Calais (kaˈlɛ in English often kæˈleɪ traditional English pronunciation /ˈkælɨs/ Kales is a town in northern France. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. From there the tourist, usually accompanied by a tutor (known colloquially as a "bear-leader) and if wealthy enough a league of servants, acquired a coach—which would be disassembled and packed across the Alps^[10] then resold on completion—and other travel and transportation necessities, such as a French-speaking guide, and set off for Paris. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city In Paris the traveller might undertake lessons in French, dancing, fencing and riding. The appeal of Paris lay in the sophisticated language and manners of high French society, including courtly behavior and fashion. Ostensibly this served the purpose of preparing the young British nobleman for a leadership position at home, often government-related or diplomatic in nature.

Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland (1640-1702), painted in classical dress in Rome by Carlo Maratta

From Paris he would typically go to Geneva, the Continental cradle of the Protestant Reformation or Lausanne and experience urban Switzerland for a while. Robert Spencer 2nd Earl of Sunderland KG PC ( September 5 1641 &ndash September 28 1702) was an English statesman Carlo Maratta or Maratti ( May 13, 1625 - December 15 1713) was an Italian painter of High Baroque, active mostly in Rome Geneva (Genève is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and is the most populous city of Romandy (the French -speaking The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in Europe that began in 1517 though its roots lie further back in time Lausanne ( pronounced, Losanna is a city in Romandy, the French -speaking part of Switzerland, situated on the shores of Lake Geneva ^[11] Then a difficult crossing over the Alps into Northern Italy (such as at St. Bernard Pass), which included dismantling the carriage and luggage, and if wealthy enough he might be carried over the hard terrain by servants. Related categories Central Italy Southern Italy Insular Italy Northeast Italy St Bernard Pass may refer to Great St Bernard Pass crosses the Valais Alps between Martigny Switzerland and Aosta Italy Little St Bernard Once in Northern Italy the tourist would visit Turin, less often Milan, then might spend a few months in Florence, where there was a considerable Anglo-Italian society accessible to travelling Englishmen "of quality" and where the Tribuna of the Uffizi brought together in one space the monuments of High Renaissance paintings and Roman sculptures that would inspire picture galleries dressed with antiquities at home, with side trips to Pisa, then move on to Padua^[12], Bologna, and Venice^[13] to do the same. Milan (Milano Milan (listen) is one of the largest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. Florence ( Italian: Firenze Florentia and Fiorenza) is the Capital City of the Italian region of Tuscany Tribuna is a Newspaper that focuses largely on Industry and the Energy sector; it is owned by Russian media holding Gazprom Media. The Uffizi Gallery (Galleria degli Uffizi one of the oldest and most famous Art Museums in the world is housed in the Palazzo degli Uffizi, a Pisa is a city in Tuscany, central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the Arno River on the Ligurian Sea. Padua ( Padova 'padova Latin: Patavium, Padoa) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy. Bologna (boloɲa from Latin Bononia, Bulåggna in Bolognese dialect is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy Venice ( Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venesia or Venexia) is a city in Northern Italy, the capital of the From Venice it was on, climactically, to Rome to study the classical ruins, with perhaps a visit to Naples for music, and after the mid-eighteenth century, to appreciate the recently discovered archaeological sites of Herculaneum and Pompeii and perhaps for the adventurous thrilling ascent of Mount Vesuvius. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Naples ( Napoli, Neapolitan: Nàpule) is a historic City in southern Italy, the Capital of the Herculaneum (in modern Italian Ercolano) is an ancient Roman town located in the territory of the current commune of Ercolano. Pompeii is a ruined and partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples and Caserta in the Italian region of Campania, in Mount Vesuvius (in Italian Monte Vesuvio and in Latin Mons Vesuvius) is an active Stratovolcano east of Naples Later in the period the more adventurous, especially if provided with a yacht, might attempt the Greek ruins of Sicily or Greece itself. Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία But Naples, or later Paestum a little further south, was the usual terminus; from here it was back north through the Alps to the German-speaking parts of Europe. Paestum is the classical Roman name of a major Graeco-Roman city in the Campania region of Italy. The traveller might stop first in Innsbruck before visiting Berlin, Dresden, Vienna and Potsdam, with perhaps some study time at the universities in Munich or Heidelberg. Innsbruck is the capital city of the federal state of Tyrol in western Austria. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Dresden (etymologically from Old Sorbian Drežďany, meaning people of the riverside forest, Drježdźany is the Capital city of the German Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. Also see Potsdam New York (in the USA For the Potsdam Conference see Potsdam Conference. Munich (München; Minga is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Heidelberg is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. As of 2006 over 140000 people live within the city's area Then it was on to Holland and Flanders, with more gallery-going and art appreciation, before returning across the Channel to England. Holland is a region in the western part of the Netherlands. A maritime and economic power in the 17th century Holland today consists of the Dutch provinces of Flanders (Vlaanderen Flandre Flandern is a geographical region located in parts of present day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands.

History

Thomas Coryat's travel book Coryat's Crudities (1611) was an early influence on the Grand Tour. Thomas Coryat (also Coryate) (c 1577 &ndash 1617 was an English traveller and writer of the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean age Coryat's Crudities Hastily gobled up in Five Moneth's Travels was a Gastronomic travelogue published in 1611 by Thomas Coryat of Odcombe According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first recorded use of the term (perhaps its introduction to English) was by Richard Lassels in his book An Italian Voyage (1670). The Oxford English Dictionary ( OED) published by the Oxford University Press (OUP is a comprehensive Dictionary of the English Richard Lassels (also Lascelles) (c 1603-1668 was a Roman Catholic Priest and a travel writer Some contemporary sociologists view the Grand Tour as the prototype for modern tourism.

The idea of traveling for the sake of curiosity and learning was a developing idea in the 17th century. With John Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690) it was argued, and widely accepted, that knowledge comes entirely from the external senses, that what one knows comes from the physical stimuli to which one has been exposed, thus, one could "use up" the environment, taking from it all it offers, requiring a change of place. John Locke (29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704 was an English Philosopher. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding is one of John Locke 's two most famous works the other being his Second Treatise on Civil Government Travel, therefore, was an obligation for the person who wanted to further develop his or her mind and so expand his or her knowledge of the world: "According to the law of custom, and perhaps of reason, foreign travel completes the education of an English gentleman", the precocious historian, the young Edward Gibbon remarked at the outset of his account of a repeat Grand Tour, consciously adapted for intellectual self-improvement, "revisting the Continent on a larger and more liberal plan"; most Grand Tourists did not pause more than briefly in libraries. Edward Gibbon ( April 27, 1737 January 16, 1794) was an English historian and Member of Parliament. The typical 18th century sentiment was that of the studious observer traveling through foreign lands reporting his findings on human nature for those unfortunate to have stayed home. Traveling observation became a duty, an obligation to society at large to increase its welfare. The Grand Tour flourished in this mindset. ^[14]

The Grand Tourist, like Francis Basset, would become familiar with Antiquities, though this altar is the invention of the painter Pompeo Batoni, 1778. Francis Basset 1st Baron de Dunstanville and Basset of Stratton ( 9 August 1757 - 14 February 1835) was an English nobleman and politician Pompeo Girolamo Batoni ( 25 January, 1708 - 4 February, 1787) was an Italian painter whose style incorporated elements of the French

The Grand Tour not only provided a liberal education but allowed those who could afford it the opportunity to buy things otherwise unavailable at home, and it thus increased participants' prestige and standing. Grand Tourists would return with crates of art, books, pictures, sculpture, and items of culture, which would be displayed in libraries, cabinets, gardens, and drawing rooms, as well as the galleries built purposively for their display; The Grand Tour became a symbol of wealth and freedom. A cabinet was one of a number of terms for a private room in the Domestic architecture and that of Palaces of Early Modern Europe, serving as Artists who especially thrived on Grand Tourists included Pompeo Batoni the portraitist, and the vedutisti such as Canaletto, Pannini and Guardi. Pompeo Girolamo Batoni ( 25 January, 1708 - 4 February, 1787) was an Italian painter whose style incorporated elements of the French A portrait is a painting, photograph, Sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person in which the face and its expression is predominant A veduta ( Italian for "view" plural vedute) is a highly detailed usually large-scale Painting of a cityscape or some other This is about the first and better known artist "Canaletto" for his nephew and pupil sometimes also called "Canaletto" especially in Poland and Germany see Giovanni Paolo Pannini or Panini ( June 17 1691 &ndash Rome, October 21 1765) was an Italian painter and Francesco Lazzaro Guardi ( October 5, 1712 &ndash January 1, 1793) was a Venetian painter of Veduta. The less well-off could return with an album of Piranesi etchings.

The "perhaps" in Gibbon's opening remark cast an ironic shadow over his resounding statement. ^[15] Critics of the Grand Tour derided its lack of adventure. "The tour of Europe is a paltry thing", said one 18th century critic, "a tame, uniform, unvaried prospect". ^[16] The Grand Tour was said to re-enforce the old preconceptions and prejudices about national characteristics, as Jean Gailhard's Compleat Gentleman (1678) observes: "French courteous. Spanish lordly. Italian amorous. German clownish. "^[16] The deep suspicion with which Tour was viewed at home in England, where it was feared that the very experiences that completed the British gentleman might well undo him, were epitomised in the sarcastic nativist view of the ostentatiously "well-travelled" "maccaroni of the 1760s and 70s.

After the arrival of mass transit, around 1825, the Grand Tour custom continued, but it was of a qualitative difference -cheaper to undertake, safer, easier, open to anyone. During much of the 19th century, most educated young men of privilege undertook the Grand Tour. Germany and Switzerland came to be included in a more broadly defined circuit. Later, it became fashionable for young women as well; a trip to Italy, with a spinster aunt chaperon, was part of the upper-class woman's education, as in E.M. Forster's novel A Room with a View. A chaperone (or occasionally chaperon) is an adult who accompanies or supervises one or more young unmarried men or women during social occasions usually with the specific Edward Morgan Forster OM, CH (1 January 1879–7 June 1970 was an English novelist Short story writer Essayist, and Librettist A Room with a View is a 1908 Novel by English writer E M Forster, about a young woman in the repressed culture of Edwardian England.

The Grand Tour on television

In 2005, British art historian Brian Sewell followed in the footsteps of the Grand Tourist for a 10 part television series 'Brian Sewell's Grand Tour'. Brian Sewell (born 15 July 1931) is a British Art critic. He writes for the Evening Standard and is noted for his artistic Produced by UK's Channel Five, Sewell travelled across Italy by car stopping off in Rome, Florence, Vesuvius, Naples, Pompeii, Turin, Milan, Cremona, Siena, Bologna, Vicenza, Paestum, Urbino, Tivoli. His journey concluded in Venice at a masked ball.

In 1998, the BBC produced an art history series 'Sister Wendy's Grand Tour' presented by Carmelite nun Sister Wendy. Sister Wendy Beckett (born February 25 1930) is a South African born British art expert Consecrated virgin and contemplative Ostensibly an art history series, the journey takes her from Madrid to St. Petersburg with stop offs to see the great masterpieces. Madrid (pronounced in English in Spanish and colloquially in Spain) is the Capital and largest city of Spain. Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River

See also

• Tourism
• Pop-culture tourism
• Gap year, a year "off" between school and university during often spent travelling abroad

Notes

References

• Elizabeth Bohls and Ian Duncan, ed. (2005). Travel Writing 1700-1830 : An Anthology. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-284051-7
• James Buzard (2002), "The Grand Tour and after (1660-1840)", in The Cambridge Companion to Travel Writing. ISBN 0-521-78140-X
• Paul Fussell (1987), "The Eighteenth Century and the Grand Tour", in The Norton Book of Travel, ISBN 0-393-02481-4
• Edward Chaney (1985), The Grand Tour and the Great Rebellion: Richard Lassels and 'The Voyage of Italy' in the seventeenth century(CIRVI, Geneva-Turin, 1985. Paul Fussell (born March 22, 1924, Pasadena California, USA is a cultural and literary Historian, and professor emeritus of English literature
• Edward Chaney (2004), "Richard Lassels": entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
• Edward Chaney, The Evolution of the Grand Tour: Anglo-Italian Cultural Relations since the Renaissance (Frank Cass, London and Portland OR, 1998; revised edition 2000).
• Edward Chaney ed. (2003), The Evolution of English Collecting (Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2003).
• Geoffrey Trease, The Grand Tour (Yale University Prewss) 1991.
• Andrew Witon and Maria Bignamini, Grand Tour: The Lure of Italy in the Eighteenth-Century.

External links

• The Grand Tour
• Grand Tour online at the Getty Museum
• "Grand Tour" an exhibition project of the Swedish artist Matts Leiderstam
• Voyagers and Voyeurs - Travellers in 19th century France, an anthology
• Contemporary Grand Tour in Italy, Pictures and quotes