«Poma di paradiso». Le descrizioni botaniche nei diari di pellegrinaggio del corpus fiorentino tra XIII e XV secolo

Abstract

In the Florentine diaries of pilgrimages to the Holy Land, dated between the XIIIth and xvth centuries, nature is always ascribed a powerfully symbolic value. This has both a metaphorical dimension and a taxonomic approach that is derived from the influence of practical writings, such as family books. The plant species described by the Florentine diarists, even within this new naturalistic paradigm, continue to maintain the sense of wonder and miracle as if they were a tangible expression of a divine presence that animates places and nature