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The journey of C.T. Ramage through the Cilento in the first half of the nineteenth century, between geography and history of an ‘unknown’ land

Silvia Siniscalchi
Silvia Siniscalchi
   | Jul 31, 2019
Miscellanea Geographica's Cover Image
Miscellanea Geographica
Volume 23 (2019): Issue 3 (July 2019)
Thematic Issue: History and space: challenges, methods, applications. Editors: Piotr Werner, Izabela Gołębiowska, Izabela Karsznia
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Published Online: Jul 31, 2019
Page range: 163 - 172
Received: Nov 16, 2018
Accepted: Jan 24, 2019
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/mgrsd-2019-0007
Keywords
© 2019 Silvia Siniscalchi, published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Figure 1

Delimitation of the Cilento area on Google Maps (black line introduced by the author).The delimitation was implemented on the basis of a geographical definition of “Cilento” denoting the entire southern part of the province of Salerno, bordered to the north-east by the Marzano and Eremita mountains and, to the east, by the Vallo di Diano, starting from the plain to the left of the Sele river to the Gulf of Policastro.
Delimitation of the Cilento area on Google Maps (black line introduced by the author).The delimitation was implemented on the basis of a geographical definition of “Cilento” denoting the entire southern part of the province of Salerno, bordered to the north-east by the Marzano and Eremita mountains and, to the east, by the Vallo di Diano, starting from the plain to the left of the Sele river to the Gulf of Policastro.

Figure 2

The main points of Ramage’s travel through Cilento, highlighted on a Google Earth satellite image (author’s underlining)
The main points of Ramage’s travel through Cilento, highlighted on a Google Earth satellite image (author’s underlining)

Figure 3

The Sele plain in an extract from Sheet 19 of the Atlante geografico del Regno di Napoli delineato per ordine di Ferdinando IV re delle Due Sicilie & C. & C. da Gio. Antonio Rizzi-Zannoni geografo di Sua Maestà e terminato nel 1808 [Geographical Atlas of the Kingdom of Naples outlined by order of Ferdinand IV King of the two Sicilies by Giovanni Antonio Rizzi-Zannoni, Geographer of His Majesty and completed in 1808]. Napoli, 1788–1812 (Firenze, Cartographic Archive, 11th group, Order No. 28, archive folder 85, doc. 5). Scale 1:126,000. As can be seen from the drawing, the plain and the area of Paestum, bounded to the north from the southern foothills of the Picentini Mountains and south from the Alburni Mountains, are impaludate, with riverbeds without embankments and control, and extensive cultivation of poor quality (changes and additions are introduced by the author).
The Sele plain in an extract from Sheet 19 of the Atlante geografico del Regno di Napoli delineato per ordine di Ferdinando IV re delle Due Sicilie & C. & C. da Gio. Antonio Rizzi-Zannoni geografo di Sua Maestà e terminato nel 1808 [Geographical Atlas of the Kingdom of Naples outlined by order of Ferdinand IV King of the two Sicilies by Giovanni Antonio Rizzi-Zannoni, Geographer of His Majesty and completed in 1808]. Napoli, 1788–1812 (Firenze, Cartographic Archive, 11th group, Order No. 28, archive folder 85, doc. 5). Scale 1:126,000. As can be seen from the drawing, the plain and the area of Paestum, bounded to the north from the southern foothills of the Picentini Mountains and south from the Alburni Mountains, are impaludate, with riverbeds without embankments and control, and extensive cultivation of poor quality (changes and additions are introduced by the author).

Figure 4

Benedetto Marzolla, Carta dei prodotti alimentari delle Provincie Continentali del Regno delle Due Sicilie [Map of food products of the Continental Provinces of the Two Sicilies Kingdom], Napoli 1856. Scale of 60 miles per degree (approximately 1:2,500,000). Also printed on silk, in very rare specimens, the map shows, through 51 figurative symbols, but without statistical data, an overall view on the distribution of raw materials and the various foods produced in the Kingdom of Naples. According to what Ramage writes, Cilento is characterised by the symbols of figs, dried fruit and wine near the coast, while, further inland, abundant salami, fresh fruit, pigs and, to the left of the Sele, corn. On the coast, on the other hand, we can see the symbols of a “Tonnaja” at the height of Agropoli and the capture of “sea fish” in the stretch between Agnone and Acciaroli (changes and enlargements are introduced by the author).
Benedetto Marzolla, Carta dei prodotti alimentari delle Provincie Continentali del Regno delle Due Sicilie [Map of food products of the Continental Provinces of the Two Sicilies Kingdom], Napoli 1856. Scale of 60 miles per degree (approximately 1:2,500,000). Also printed on silk, in very rare specimens, the map shows, through 51 figurative symbols, but without statistical data, an overall view on the distribution of raw materials and the various foods produced in the Kingdom of Naples. According to what Ramage writes, Cilento is characterised by the symbols of figs, dried fruit and wine near the coast, while, further inland, abundant salami, fresh fruit, pigs and, to the left of the Sele, corn. On the coast, on the other hand, we can see the symbols of a “Tonnaja” at the height of Agropoli and the capture of “sea fish” in the stretch between Agnone and Acciaroli (changes and enlargements are introduced by the author).
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