DEFINING A MODERN ARAB IMAGE OF ITALY THROUGH THE TRAVEL MEMOIRES OF ‘ISĀ ’IBRAHIM AL-NĀ‘ŪRĪ Cover Image

DEFINING A MODERN ARAB IMAGE OF ITALY THROUGH THE TRAVEL MEMOIRES OF ‘ISĀ ’IBRAHIM AL-NĀ‘ŪRĪ
DEFINING A MODERN ARAB IMAGE OF ITALY THROUGH THE TRAVEL MEMOIRES OF ‘ISĀ ’IBRAHIM AL-NĀ‘ŪRĪ

Author(s): Michele Pisano
Subject(s): History, Language and Literature Studies, Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
Published by: Editura Universităţii din Bucureşti
Keywords: East-West encounter; Italy; Occidentalism; modernity; riḥla; Jordan; Palestine;

Summary/Abstract: On the 11th of September 1960 the Jordanian writer, translator and intellectual ‘Īsā Ibrāhīm al-Nā‘ūrī (d. 1985) set foot for the first time in a Western country: Italy. The memories and impressions of this travelling experience are gathered in the volume Riḥla ilā Īṭāliyā 1960-61 posthumously published in 2004. The work is first of all the account of a mission (ba‘ṯ) assigned by UNESCO, whose aim was to explore and collect data on the cultural status of Italy at that time, visiting important institutions and establishing contact with intellectuals and important personalities in the literary field. During his six month stay in Italy, he does not only report the experiences and impressions of his itinerary throughout the country, but also describes his personal encounters with writers such as Alberto Moravia, Italo Calvino, Elsa Morante, and many others. Thus, this paper intends to explore the reality of Italy as it has been portrayed in the text, with particular regard to how the perception of this country is re-elaborated into the dialectic of the East-West encounter.

  • Issue Year: XVIII/2018
  • Issue No: 18
  • Page Range: 145-153
  • Page Count: 9
  • Language: English, Arabic