Delightful Dalmatia

Moqué Alice Lee

New York - London, Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1914, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana

L'opera rappresenta la rivisitazione e l'ampliamento del diario di viaggio redatto da Moqué esattamente un anno prima dello scoppio della Grande Guerra. L'autrice racconta che il tour sulla costa dalmata, compiuto con il secondo marito John Oliver Roland Moqué, può essere considerato il nono "viaggio di nozze", dato che erano soliti farne uno ogni anno.

Le descrizioni delle località dalmate sono arricchite da interessantissime fotografie (nonostante i divieti militari in alcune località) e dallo sguardo di una donna americana che non indugia ad esprimere giudizi sulla società dalmata ancora retrograda e fortemente patriarcale. Così, se i commenti sulla condizione economica e politica del paese si riducono a pochi accenni, Alice Moqué presta particolare attenzione alla condizione femminile, fino a scrivere: «I'm so glad I wasn't born a Dalmatian woman – or I feel sure I would be a bomb-throwing, acid-pouring, Croatian suffragette!» (p. 68).

Itinerari del libro di viaggio

"Lussin-piccolo, a charming little place, […]. The island of Lussin is connected with the near-by island of Cherso by a turning bridge which crosses the channel. Nothing could be more picturesque than the view of the pretty harbor as we came up t... leggi tutto

Lussinpiccolo

"Across the long, slender isthmus from the little Lussin is Lussin-grande, but the former has now outstript its once grander neighbor. Owing to its larger and better harbor it has robbed its rival of most of her former prosperity, and in population a... leggi tutto

Lussingrande

"It was nine o'clock when we reached Selve, and quite dark. We didn't dock, for Selve is only a little village of no importance — on an island of the same name and description. We just slowed down, and when about a half-mile or so off shore the Bri... leggi tutto

Selve

"Having learned that the Brioni would not reach Zara, our next stopping-place, until after eleven that night, and that she was to leave at the unearthly hour of 4 a.m. we had decided to part company with her, but most unwillingly. […]. If Rovigno,... leggi tutto

Zara

"On the Baron Gautch, […] we reached Sebenico, our next stop, […]. John talked and talked, but I was entirely noncommittal except to complain of the sun and the heat; the rough roads and the dirt; the sore-eyed children and the slatternly women; ... leggi tutto

Sebenico

"Traü is an adorable little town. From the moment you see the Marina, with old Castel Camerlengo with its battlemented walls, you are charmed with it. Traü dates back so far, that many of the other ancient places seem to be almost modern, by compar... leggi tutto

Traù

"[Turning once more to the diary] «Our first glimpse of Spalato was wofully disappointing. It looked much more like a square fortress — built low and flat upon the shore — than a palace or an ancient city. Along the whole seafront runs a dilapid... leggi tutto

Spalato

"[From the diary]. «The only carriage John could get was a horrible, jolty old hack, but the view was so fine I forgot all about the seat – which was as hard as if it had been made of brickbats — and the jerks and jolts of the springs, or what s... leggi tutto

Poglizza

"[From the diary]. «Almissa is about sixteen miles from Spalato. It is a charming drive all the way. After passing through the hamlet of Postrana, our road ran close to the shore, until, coming around a sharp turn, we caught sight of Almissa on the ... leggi tutto

Almissa

"Once more, a chapter from my diary. «John says we will leave Spalato to-day, on whatever boat happens to be leaving. He thinks we can take the Lesina, at five this afternoon. It is a little boat, and stops every few minutes, but we will take it, be... leggi tutto

Clissa

"«The seven castles are only ruined fortresses now, but in them, in ancient times, Venetian barons dwelt. The road skirts the shore and is dotted with a succession of charming hamlets, each clustered about the feet of its own hoary stronghold, once ... leggi tutto

Sette Castelli

"[Froma the diary]. «Salona is very wonderful, but it is only ruins, which do not very strongly appeal to me. The largest and most interesting is a basilica, an ancient Christian church, built right over a large cemetery, which is thought to date ... leggi tutto

Salona

"From Spalato our course was due south to the small island of Solta, known in ancient times as Olynta, famous for delicious honey made from the cistus rose and rosemary. Passing through a tiny channel between the island of Solta and its near neighb... leggi tutto

Lesina

"Passing the broad mouth of the river Ombla, we ran into the harbor of Gravosa, whose fine modern quay is adorned with a magnificent plane-tree. We took a room at the Grand Hotel Petka, on the water front, and having learned we were in time to catc... leggi tutto

Gravosa

"Never will I forget my first impression of Ragusa! Lovely, medieval Ragusa, which we saw in the mystic gloaming! The twilight had fallen as we crossed the square Piazza at... leggi tutto

Ragusa

"[From the diary]. «The Kotor sharply turned the point called Punta d'Ostro, with its ruinous, yellow-toned old castle, and we entered a narrow little channel. In another minute or so we were actually in the calm, lovely waters of the Bocche, which ... leggi tutto

Bocche di Cattaro

"[From the diary]. «Our first port was Castelnuovo — the name 'old castle' would be much more appropriate now. The little town is built above the ruined feudal castle of an ancient king of Bosnia. War and earthquakes have shaken down the fortifica... leggi tutto

Castelnuovo

"[From the diary]. «Exactly opposite the entrance of Le Catene slumbers the old city of Perasto, on the edge of the bay, on a rocky promontory separating the Bay of Risano from the Bay of Cattaro. The horn and the two bays form a rude capital 'T', w... leggi tutto

Perasto

"[From the diary]. «Risano is a rather ordinary small hill town, but we enjoyed our stop there. The first thing which caught my eye was a little church a few hundred feet back from the shore. A line had been attached to the cross on the tiny pointed... leggi tutto

Risano

"Cattaro is the last chapter in my story of Dalmatia! It is well called the «frontier where the West merges into, and is absorbed by, the East». The Oriental touch, first noticed in Zara, but so insignificantly as to be hardly noticeable, becomes... leggi tutto

Cattaro