ABSTRACT
The characteristic mid-Victorian strategy of juxtaposition reflects the traveler's altered perceptions of European space: 'The motion of the train shrank space, and thus displayed in immediate succession objects and pieces of scenery that in their original spatiality belonged to separate realms'. The dominant pattern of juxtaposition in mid-Victorian travel narratives also stems from the need to reconcile isolationist and Europeanist attitudes toward the Continent in general and Italy in particular. The tension between these trends in British attitudes to European affairs was pronounced both in foreign policy and in public opinion, since, even in the relatively stable and prosperous mid-Victorian period, Britain's place in Europe was still a matter of debate. In response to the claims of the Risorgimento, mid-Victorian British observers were compelled to re-examine the concept of the periphery and to communicate with increasingly nationally awakened Europeans. Some mid-Victorian English intellectuals shared this interest in Italy's historical and artistic Renaissance heritage.
