New nineteenth-century perspectives on the Middle East through the travelogues of Italian women writers Amalia Nizzoli and Cristina Trivulzio di Belgioioso

Amalia Nizzoli and Cristina di Belgioioso are the first Italian women travel writer who gave first-hand accounts of the Middle East in the nineteenth century. Nizzoli’s Memorie sull’Egitto e specialmente sui costumi delle donne orientali e gli harem (1841) and Belgioioso’s Asie Mineure et Syrie (1858) are authentic descriptions based on the personal experiences of women in the Easts, while also demonstrating their historical significance as European women in the male-dominated professions of the nineteenth century. By comparing the two travelogues this chapter analyses Nizzoli’s and Belgioioso’s impressions and approaches to nineteenth-century Arabic cultures and languages, social, class and gender differences to demonstrate their intent to offer their readers new perspectives on these lands. They shared the common advantage of being women, a privilege that enabled them to gain unique insight into the inner multiplicity and diversity of the harem. Their experiences and observations were shaped by a distinct European gender perspective on eastern life, which gave prominence to life-cycle of females, attitudes to children and culinary habits. Nizzoli and Belgioioso took advantage of favourable circumstances to study customs and ways of life in the Easts. Through their travelogues, Memorie sull’Egitto e specialmente sui costumi delle donne orientali and Asie Mineure et Syrie, they challenged existing literary representations of eastern women, portraying the domestic dimension of their lives and demonstrating their historical significance.