The book discusses the
experience of two Florentine travellers in the Levant from the 1760s to
1792. During their separate stays in Cyprus and in Istanbul they visited
the Holy Land, Anatolia and Mesopotamia providing extensive reports on
natural history, institutions, local customs and languages as well as
data on the economy and the health conditions of the area. Their
numerous printed works enjoyed remarkable success and were translated
into French and other languages. The inquiry places the authors firmly
within the European ‘Republic of letters’ and testifies to the growing
interest for Islam and Ottoman power during the Enlightenment debate on
the eve of the French Revolution.
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