Yi Yi

The exceptionalism of eighteenth-century society marked every sector of contemporary culture, promoting not solely the liberation of humanity, but also profoundly affecting science, literature, philosophy, politics, and artistic traditions. This cultural transformation, called early on “Les Lumières,” was devoted to raising general education, while confronting superstition, dogma and prejudice. As Alexander Pope declared in the Essay on Man, “The proper study of mankind is man” indelibly locating the cultural movement in humanity itself. Yet, the Enlightenment, whose earliest stirrings were in French rationalism and English empiricism, transcended nationality and reached across European borders even to the shores of the Atlantic colonies. The relative and momentary peace in Europe after 1715 coupled to a rising prosperity and the premium placed on “knowledge,” fueled an increase in international travel. The affluent, educated, and often aristocratic travelers of the North headed south, primarily to Italy. Their collective travels to the Italian peninsula formed the “Grand Tour.”