This project is supported by my position as wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin at the Department of Catholic Theology (FB07), Chair of Church History, of the Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main.
My research explores the unpublished diary (ca. 1702) of the Italian Abbot Ilarione Bonaventura Sala, preserved in the Historical Archives of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in Rome. Sent as a Catholic missionary to China, Sala embarked on a transoceanic journey fraught with challenges. Throughout his voyage from Italy to the Chinese empire, he meticulously documented personal interactions with fellow missionaries, the ship's crew, and the diverse populations encountered along the way.
Travel diaries like Sala’s offer valuable insights into early modern masculinity on a global scale. Religious figures, in particular, provide unique perspectives, navigating a position of privilege yet lacking complete dominance over those they encountered.
My study focuses on Sala’s vivid depictions of his encounters with men in Spain, France, Brazil, various islands in the Indian Ocean, and, ultimately, China. These include his interactions with seamen aboard the ship, political figures paying homage to the crew, translators and intermediaries facilitating communication, as well as his reflections on camaraderie with fellow missionaries aboard a twin vessel that remained both physically close and emotionally distant. Sala’s account also reveals a poignant longing for his Italian homeland and spiritual community, highlighting the emotional dimensions of early modern male identity in motion.
https://www.uni-frankfurt.de/86761601/Kirchengeschichte#a_a1e4c9e3-bfb63fe3