Editing Edward Lear (section)

=== ''Illustrated Excursions in Italy'' (1842–47) ===
[[File:Edward Lear - Temple of Venus and Rome, Rome - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|left|[[Temple of Venus and Roma]], Rome]]
[[File:Castello di Celano 02.jpg|thumb|Engraving of [[Celano]]]]
In 1842, Lear began a journey into the [[Italian peninsula]], travelling through the [[Lazio]], [[Rome]], [[Abruzzo]], [[Molise]], [[Apulia]], [[Basilicata]], [[Calabria]] and [[Sicily]]. In personal notes, together with drawings, Lear gathered his impressions on the Italian way of life, folk traditions, and the beauty of the ancient monuments. Of particular interest to Lear was the [[Abruzzo]], which he visited in 1843, through the [[Marsica]] (Celano, Avezzano, [[Alba Fucens]], Trasacco) and the plateau of Cinque Miglia ([[Castel di Sangro]] and Alfedena), by an old sheep track of the shepherds.

Lear drew a sketch of the medieval village of Albe with Mount Sirente, and described the medieval village of Celano, with the castle of Piccolomini dominating the vast plain of Lago Fucino, which was drained a few years later to promote agricultural development. At Castel di Sangro, Lear described the winter stillness of the mountains and the beautiful basilica.

More adventurous was the voyage to the regions of southern Italy in 1847, described in Lear's ''Journals of a Landscape Painter in Southern Calabria, & c''. The broad [[Calabria]] section in which Lear tells his itinerary among breathtaking landscapes and often surreal characters, is thought to be among the best in his travel literature.<ref>See: Raffaele Gaetano, ''Senza ombre di cerimonie. Sull'ospitalità nei "Diari di viaggio" in Calabria di Edward Lear'', Pellegrini, Cosenza, 2020. Raffaele Gaetano, ''Per la Calabria Selvaggia: 109 disegni inediti di Edward Lear. Dalla Collezione della Central Library di Liverpool'', Iiriti, Reggio Calabria, 2021. Raffaele Gaetano, ''Edward Lear: Cronache di un viaggio a piedi nella Calabria del 1847'', Laruffa, Reggio Calabria, 2022</ref>