Il territorio come un presepio: il paesaggio agrario nei Voyages de Naples tra Sette e Ottocento

The voyage de Naples made a name for itself in the second half of the eighteenth century: tourists are attracted by the new archeological discoveries and the richness of its natural resources. The accounts of the journey and guides focus their attention on these themes and dedicate several pages to natural and historical monuments. The background is the rural landscape, constantly present, but never playing a leading role. The landscape of the countryside of Aversa is an exception: where the method of training vines onto poplars by mean of tall shoots takes on such proportions that the guidebooks cannot fail to mention them. The french odeporic literature deals with rural landscape in a multi-faceted manner. It is possible, however, to find a common stance in the appreciation of those landscapes which present strong geophysical features, well-cultivated countryside, great monumental value and the intense liveliness of the local population: territories where these elements appear to have been artistically arranged.