| Content Description | Diary starts on 16 November 1835 in Milan, although the writer states that he had recently left the Alps; the writer and his companion 'Callander' [probably James Henry Callander] arrive in Bologna on 29 November, Florence on 5 December, and Rome on 31 December; the diary breaks off on 30 March 1836 with the writer and Callander still in Rome, living in rented rooms; after a gap the diary recommences on 15 May 1836, with the writer leaving Naples and travelling to Leghorn [Livorno], Pisa, Genoa, Turin and Milan, and arriving in Verona on 26 May 1836 when the diary finishes abruptly.
The writer principally records the cultural sights he visits, including churches and art galleries; he is particularly interested in art, and gives detailed lists of the most important paintings which he sees at the Brera Gallery in Milan, the Palazzo Pitti and the Great Gallery in Florence, and the Royal Gallery in Turin.
The diary includes a description of visits to various churches in Florence on Christmas Eve, to experience Catholic worship and ceremony; and a description of the Pope and a number of Cardinals taking a High Mass at the Sistine Chapel.
In Milan the writer attended a dinner at Lord Hertford's on 25 November, along with members of the aristocracy and a number of Austrian officers. The diary contains many descriptions of the writer's social life in Rome with a wide variety of British expatriates, many of which are named; he describes a Tableaux evening at the Princess of Denmark's home, with tableaux performed by the Princess and by a Mrs Gloag; numerous balls and dinners; the Carnival festivities from 8 to 16 February, including a Ball organised by the English bachelors at the Palais Marescotti, for which he was a member of the Committee; a fancy dress and costume ball given by the Princess of Denmark; and a sitting for his portrait in miniature by Madame Bianci Boni at no. 30 Via Felice.
The writer is unidentified, but wrote letters to his father, and to A. [Anthony] Hamond. The dates would fit John George Musters (1807-1842), son of John Musters of Colwick and Annesley, who married Emily Hamond in 1837 and settled at Wiverton Hall. |