Pietro della Valle

Pietro Della Valle known as Pellegrino (born the April 11th 1586 with Rome - died the April 21st 1652) was an adventurer, poet, musician and Italian Explorateur of the 17th century, which identified Babylon, revealed the existence of the wedge-shaped writing and became one of the first specialist in the Assyriologie. It is especially known general public to have made known the Persian cats and the Turkish coffee. Most of its music was lost: a oratorio " Esther, a dialog of " Sophonisbe and Massinissa" , of the dialogs written on texts of Shine Vaz de Camoes…

Biography

Born in Rome in a rich and noble family, Pietro Della Valle had a turbulent youth. Perhaps to get rid some, the Pape sent it to release from the captive Chrétiens in Tunisia. During the voyage, it finds a box of jewels which will make its fortune. Arrived on the spot, he discovers that the prisoners are already free, converts with the Islam, that they founded a family and do not wish to return. It is undoubtedly as from this moment there, that it adopts a position of opening and relativism with respect to the differences in cultures. Of return to Rome, it becomes acquainted with a doctor, scholar, Mario Schipano, which gives him its first lessons of Arab and the spirit opens to him on other civilizations. It is at that time that it composes the booklet of an mini-opera, with its Master of music Paolo Quagliati, “ It carro di fedelta of amore ” which will be played on a tank in the streets of Rome (Apollo, god of the sun fell in love with Amaryllis, goddess of the dawn, without to have ever seen it, since she precedes it and disappears each morning before her rising…). It then decides to undertake a Holy Land pilgrimage (which will last 12 years!), and asks Schipano progressively to publish its letters by translating them (in French, German, Dutch, etc…). After establishbeing established “pilgrim” ( Pellegrino ”), during a ceremony in a church of Naples, it embarks the June 8th 1614 with Venice on the galleon It Gran Delfino . After a voyage a few months without stories - he regrets not to have met neither storms, nor pirates! - and after having tried to find traces of the Mythology in the Greek islands, it arrives at Constantinople. It attends there the world of the ambassadors around the Palais of Topkapi. It describes all that it sees, manners, habits, architecture and in particular the Musique, that of the Janissaire S, to which it prefers that of the Derviche S. There remains one year and half in Constantinople, he learns the Turkish, then sets out again in boat on September 25th, 1615 for Alexandria and Cairo where he discovers the Egyptian music and the dancers of the belly, he turns over several times to see them to be convinced not to like this kind… He arrives finally at Jerusalem and pays a visit with the Tombeau of the Patriarchs to Hebron.

Having achieved the goal of sound Pilgrimage, it takes off the dress of pilgrim but continues his voyage towards Alep. He wants to bring back in Italy a report of exceptional voyage, and all that seems to him worthy of interest: spices, objects, musical instruments… He wants over all to meet the Shah of Persia Abbas 1st, to propose to him an alliance with the Cossacks against the Turks (Della Valle, which grew in full Counter-Reformation, is an impassioned reader of the " Jerusalem libérée" cup). He leaves Alep for Baghdad, joining a caravan of 1500 people, and adding to it his horses and his tents whose magnificence makes the admiration of the inhabitants. During a stage, an unknown speaks to him about its unhappy love affair for an young girl of Baghdad: Sita Maani, Della Valle conceives little by little a true passion for it, and with forced march it joined Baghdad in October 1616 to declare its flame to him. It manages to convince the parents with difficulty and announces in Schipano that it leaves on January 4th, 1617 with his new wife towards Ispahan to Persia, before returning to Italy. Arrived on February 22nd, 1617, the city appears even more beautiful to him than Istanbul, it will await the return of the Abbas Shah there 1st, occupied by the war against the Othomans. One year later it decides to join the king with Ferhabad. It can discuss lengthily with him, but Persan successes against Istanbul, make vain its project of alliance. The Persan ones negotiate as winners a favorable peace. After this failure, and Schipano not replying more to its letters, nostalgia, the fear of being forgotten in its fatherland, throw Pietro in a deep depression. In September 1622, it begins its return, the group is composed of Pietro, Maani and its brother, a maidservant georgienne of 12 years Maria Tinatin known as Mariuccia, and some servants. After having visited the Persépolis antique, and the Province of Qazvin, they arrive at Mina at the edge of the Persian Gulf, area infested by the malaria, and they fall sick. Pregnant Maani loses his/her child and dies. Pietro takes care the corpse during seven nights, then the fact embaumer to satisfy the last wills of his wife: to arrive at Rome. Patient him even, neat in Chiraz by a Persan doctor, it embarks finally in Ormuz, on January 16th, 1623, on an English vessel, the " Whal". He unloads one month later with Surat, on the Western coast of India. There there remains one year and furrows this coast until Calicut in the South. In the eight letters sent of India, it is depicted like " a shade malheureuse". It described there the system of the castes, the education reciprocal of young people, the music with Goa, as well Western as Indian.

December 17th, 1624, it leaves India in boat for Mascate (Oman), Al Basra, Alep and Alexandrette. It arrives at Naples on February 5th, 1626. The account of this return is filled of delays, problems, vexations, and of the presence of the embaumé body of Maani, which it must defend against the curiosity and the cupidity of those which imagine another kind of treasure. This account contrasts with the sharp descriptions of colors, costumes, uses, and discharges it of luxury which accompanied it at the time of its arrival in the East. It returns night to Rome, incognito, estimating that its state of widower prohibits any festivity to him. He wants to show with his close relations the beauty of his wife: the body is well preserved by camphor, but the face is completely broken up. Maani is buried in a splendid tomb in the family vault of the church Santa Maria d' Aracoeli on Capitole. The pope Urbain VIII receives Pietro and raises with the dignity of " cameriere of onore di spada E di cappa". It resumes its studies of Eastern languages and music. He writes a speech to defend the opera incipient against the old polyphony. He corresponds with Batista Doni, illustrates theorist of the music, receives the large lutist Kapsberger, makes play his servants on the instruments which he reported: qanun, fortified, setar, and builds fantastic instruments: " violate panharmonique" and " harpsichord enharmonique" (with three keyboards, one in C, one in E flat, and one in F sharp, to play just, so that B flat is not identical to A sharp as on an ordinary keyboard).

He marries Maria Tinatin, the following young person of his died wife, who will give him 14 children. Its studious and family life is stopped by an incident: April 6th, 1636, during the procession of Santissimo Rosario, in the presence of the pope, it intervenes in a quarrel between its servants and those of the Barberini family and keep silent one of the latter. It takes refuge with Paliano in a fortress of Colonna, and returns to Rome one year later, grâcié by the pope. It composes in 1640 a oratorio " Per the festa della Santissima Purificazione" , " Dialog in music with five votes, with five tons different: dorien, Phrygian, wind, Lydian and hypolydien" , so masterly, that he was refused for his too great harmonic audacity, and ever carried out in public (the text is very close to the passage on the presentation with the temple of the Gospel of St Luc). He dies on April 21st, 1652, and is buried in the vault dedicated to St Paul in the church Santa Maria d' Aracoeli, but no plate currently indicates the place of the burial.

according to Fiorella Giannuzzi and Jean-Christophe Frisch, Together of Baroque music XVIII-21, CD “Pellegrino, it viaggio di Pietro Della Valle"

Works

Voyages of Pietro Della Valle, Roman gentleman, in Turkey, Egypt, Palestine, Persia, the Eastern Indies, and other places, New edition, re-examined, corrected and increased, (1645).

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