ABSTRACT
This chapter focusses on Ross's Italian Sketches and Our Home by the Adriatic by Collier, following a trajectory that moves from travel writing as sociological and historical study to autobiographical travel writing validated by a truth based on being present and connected with the present moment. After the 1815 Congress of Vienna, Italy's geographical boundaries were replaced and the domination of foreign European monarchies restored, without consideration for the aspiration of the Italians to a united nation. Collier and Ross published accounts of their Italian experiences in which the image of an authentic, unified Italy contrasts with romanticised portrayals of Italian country life. Collier and Ross depict contemporary multiple portraits of Italians in their varied regional sociocultural conditions. The narrative geographical movements, from an urban to a rural context, mirror the circumstances of her life, whereas the temporal shifts from past to present Italian life display her intense historical, archival research.
