Conference Agenda

The concept of “waiting territories” (Gomes & Musset, 2016) help to understand how migratory projects, regarding the initial phase of movement, can have moments of deceleration, from a chronotopic point of view. “Waiting” to arrive at final destination, implies processes of deterritorialization and reterritorialization, with complexification of previous aspirations (Haesbaert, 2003; Fernandes, 2008).
Literary Geography, using the methodology of content analysis, can contribute to understand certain migratory phenomena, such as return migrations, which occurred in the process of African decolonization, between Angola, Mozambique and Portugal. The geographic reading of the book "O Retorno [The Return]”, by Dulce Maria Cardoso, make possible to answer the key-question: how forced displacement of Portuguese people, living in African colonies, was conditioned by “waiting territories”.
Using the methodology of content analysis, it will be possible to discuss the reality fictionalized by the author, who experienced this process in her adolescence, in the mid-70s of the 20th century, that is, from the escape (deterritorialization) to the arrival in the territory waiting in Portuguese metropolis, where it was needed to reconfigure the temporary living space (reterritorialization).
This reflection can be useful to understand the dynamics of contemporary migratory movements in a changing Europe, with an increasingly diverse migratory matrix, reflected in the intercultural dimension.

Gianni Rodari was a lover of geography. He would study for weeks maps and plans of the places where he planned to set his stories. It is well known, for example, that he spent time on his beloved Lake Orta before writing his last and famous novel “C’era due volte il Barone Lamberto” to study its waterways, bell towers and paths. For each village marked on the map, a rhyme or a childhood memory sprang up, which are now brought back to the Rodari Museum (Omegna, his birthplace) for the benefit of all visitors, in an amazing digital journey around Cusio.

Rodari’s passion for geography can also be seen in the title of the column he chose when he was working for the newspaper "Paese Sera": "Benelux". Three people wrote there and it seemed good to him to give the reference to the geographical triad formed by the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Incidentally, a sign of destiny, even that ‘Country’ in the name of the newspaper he contributed to suggested that the subject was written in his DNA!

Indeed, the combination of geographical science and Rodari’s imagination is no mere coincidence; in his texts, especially those for children and young people, one finds many ‘georeferenced’ references: places, territories, landscapes, cities, etc.

He himself has travelled a lot along the Peninsula, on foot, by plane or by train, but for most of his journeys he has used a very special means of transport: his imagination. What story lies behind the city of Como to which, who knows why, one day an accent was added? What could have happened to the palace of ice cream in the piazza of Bologna? And why on earth does a witty gentleman fly over the heads of bathers on the beach at Ostia?

Rodari’s stories accompany one to the sea or to the mountains. The important thing is that the journey is accessible to all, without exception. Playing between regions and cities, making those faraway places closer and ‘friends’, is a great way to make literature a key to knowledge, to sharing, to inclusion. There is a ‘European modernity’ in all this that is worth investigating and highlighting.

Come to think of it, both Rodari and geography speak of the reality that surrounds us, they start from concrete, visible, tangible data to then elaborate reflections, produce knowledge and, why not, try to change reality by imagining new paths.

Within this framework, the contribution aims to present a "fantastic" tour of Italy, which can be done today in retrospect, following the geographical trail of the Maestro’s rhymes and stories. This metaphorical journey succeeds in illustrating his proposal of "creative geography" that has the power to entertain and teach, to each reader; no age, census or other characteristics matter; his literature, though aimed at childhood, knows how to speak to everyone, without exclusions, just as he liked.

Since the past, travel literature has been considered an interesting source to know and explore new territories. Also travels and pilgrimages have occupied many pages of literary works, while showing changing historical periods and human experiences (Coleman and Elsner, 2003). Travel literature has moved from simply territorial descriptions to subjectivity; indeed, writers convey and share a more intimate “architecture of their journeys” (Brosseau, 1994; Alexander, 2015). It does not only consist of external and recognizable territorial representations, as the real essence is properly the “subjective territorial exploration” made up thanks to senses and emotions that activate new spatial meanings.

Considering these premises, the main aim of the proposal is to explore the intimate “architecture of a European pilgrimage space” by selecting a corpus of travel diaries on the Camino de Santiago. As First European Cultural Route since 1987, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993, its history and landscape record the passing of time in Europe. In addition, contemporary travel literature on the Camino shows how the route is becoming a successful Leitmotiv for the European cultural industry, as it takes part in the spatial and cultural re-turn (Lopez, 2019). The present research analyses a selected corpus of travel diaries describing European landscapes that inspire an intimate “sense of place”. From a methodological point of view, the Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis highlights a subject-centred approach that explores and reproduces the surrounding environment according to two main criteria: senses and emotions. As well as Daniels and Cosgrove (1988: 1) considered landscape as “a cultural image, a pictorial way of representing, structuring or symbolising surroundings”, also literary representations are ways of seeing and symbolizing the surrounding environments. As a result, the singularity of the pilgrimage experience and the subjective meaning-making process of the space of the Camino produce a catalogue of Caminoscapes, by which I mean variable combinations of senses and emotions interacting in pilgrims’ meaning-making processes of/on the Camino, working as settings and attributes of their literary representations.

References
Alexander N. (2015). On Literary Geography. Literary Geographies, I(1): 3-6.
Brosseau M. (1994). Geography’s literature. Progress in Human Geography, 18(3): 333-353.
Coleman S., Elsner J. (2003). Pilgrim Voices. Narrative and Authorship in Christian Pilgrimage. New York: Berghahan Books.
Cosgrove, D.; Daniels, S. (1988). The Iconography of Landscape: Essays on The Symbolic Representation, Design and Use of Past Environments. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lopez L. (2019). A geo-literary analysis through human senses. Towards a Sensuous Camino geography. Emotion, Space and Society, 30: 9-19.

Sinophone literature represents a fertile ground for exploring the dynamics of cultural hybridization resulting from migration. By examining the works of Sinophone authors who have relocated to Europe, it becomes possible to analyse the ways in which literary texts depict the encounter between different cultural worlds. These authors often incorporate autobiographical elements or bilingual texts, creating bridges between their native Chinese culture and the European societies they inhabit. Such texts, whether characterized by stereotypical portrayals or nuanced, in-depth descriptions, offer valuable material for investigating the construction of spatial and cultural imaginaries.
From a geo-literary perspective, the social value of these texts lies in their ability to reveal how migration shapes the perception and representation of Europe in Sinophone literature. Some narratives may emphasize initial impressions of European cities (sometimes influenced by astonishment or preconceptions), while others might evolve into more complex and detailed representations over time. This diversity of approaches underscores the potential of geo-literary analysis to examine how literature contributes to construct cultural identities and spatial understandings.
Ultimately, Sinophone literary production invites reflection on its dual role: it not only documents the experience of migration but also acts as a mediator in the cultural exchange between China and Europe. As such, it offers significant insights into the broader cultural, social, and geographic dynamics that influence both literary production and intercultural relations.