From Italy to Jerusalem R. Moses Basola and his Travelogue in 1521-1523
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Abstract
In the wake of the Ottoman conquest of the Land of Israel (1516), Jews from throughout the Diaspora now took the opportunity to visit and to settle in the Land of Israel. One such traveler and eventual settler was Rabbi Moses Basola, an Italian rabbi whose extended pilgrimage lasted from 1521 to 1523. Moses Basola's informative diary imparts the details of his sea and land journey and of his visits to venerated sites in the Land of Israel, devoting distinct attention to Jerusalem and its local customs. This itinerary was written in Hebrew and has been translated into some European languages, such as: Spanish, French, English, Italian and Czech. Basola envisioned his treatise primarily as a useful guide whose purpose was to provide western European Jewish pilgrims and potential settlers in Eretz-Israel with helpful information for planning their voyage to Eretz-Israel. He attempts to remove potential obstacles from their path, particularly those based on lack of experience in foreign places so different from their homelands.