Il banditismo d’onore in Corsica nell’immaginario di viaggio francese (1815-1915)

Abstract

This paper aims at reconstructing the representations of Corsican banditry given by French travelers during the 19th century, taking into account travel guides and tourists reports. Between 1815 and 1915 an increasing interest in Corsica takes place; the island is perceived as a wild and archaic spot, outside civilization. French travelers incorporate the romantic idealization and literary figure of the bandit of honor, to whom they attribute positive morale values​​. The representation of banditry provided by travelers is closely related to the representation of the Corsican people. The banditisme honoraire will become the island’s main tourist object, so as to transform the legendary Antonio Bellacoscia in bandit decoratif.

Keywords

• Corsica
• banditry
• travel literature
• Bellacoscia
• 19th century
• banditismo
• letteratura di viaggio
• XIX secolo