Lettres sur l'Italie en 1785 - Dupaty, Charles-Marguerite-Jean-Baptiste Mercier 1746-1788 (Paris Maradan, 1809)
Dupaty was a French magistrate, criminal law reformer and man of letters. He was chamber president of the parliament of Bordeaux and made his mark in several causes célèbres.
Originally published posthumously in 2 parts in 1789, which met with great success and was translated into German, English and Russian. Rome placed it on the Index librorum prohibitorum. Dupaty is above all a gentleman thrown on the Grand Tour. However, rather than describing the ruins of an extinct star in a soothing manner, he focuses on the men - especially the women - and their customs: death, misery, and toil.These letters are epistolary in name only, since they were written for the sole purpose of publication.
Part 1: Engraved frontispiece portrait of the author by C.E. Gaucher after C.J. Notté
Part 2: Engraved frontispiece of Tivoli Gardens by Coiny after Chaillou
Part 3: Engraved frontispiece of Mount Vesuvius by Coiny after Chaillou
See also X2A05 for an edition in two volumes of 1796
Keywords: 18th Century (1701-1800); 19th Century (1801-1900); Travel; Cuckoo; Italy