Travel literature became, after the novel, the most famous literary genre of the 18th century. Thanks to the geographical discoveries made by important navigators of the time, enlightened men were finally able to explore a “new world” with their imagination. Inevitably, the growing interest in learning about other countries led people to travel around the world not only for health reasons, but also for pleasure and to supplement their cultural education – this is what the British called Grand Tour, and it became very popular especially. among the leisured classes. In this way, people traveled and recorded their own experiences in their books, becoming very useful travel literature for those who wanted to know more about the British world. However, travel books had certain important rules that writers had to follow: first, they had to provide a detailed description of the costumes and traditions of the countries visited; and second, travel stories must be objective – leaving no room for the author's own impressions. Nevertheless, a real change took place in the second half of the century concerning the “sentimental novel”, and it was brought about by Laurence Sterne who wrote his books with “emotion”. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy by Laurence Sterne was published in 1768 and is intended as a satire of traditional travel books in which objectivity was the sole protagonist. In fact, in this book the author introduces us to a new protagonist, namely the feeling of the traveler during his journey around the world. The author therefore focuses his attention on the sensitivity and impressions of the traveler during his journey through France and Italy. In the first volume, Yorick, the protagonist, says that travelers belong to different "Heads", so that one can find "idle travelers", "proud travelers", "travelers of necessity", etc. However, he does not belong to any of these classes because he is a “[…] sentimental traveler who traveled, […] as much by necessity, as by the need to travel”, and his travel stories will be different from others . He therefore highlights his impressions and sensations received during his trip from people, saying that "an Englishman does not travel to see English people", and then focusing on the human relationships born from his meetings with people. people from “France and Italy” – so it does not rely on the “practical aspects” of a country that characterize most traditional travel books. In this way, Sterne overturns the traditional rules of the novel by also giving a new meaning to the word “sentimental” and to the concept of Eros in general. “But what were the temptations (while I write not to apologize for the weaknesses of my heart in this tour - but to account for them) - will be described with the same simplicity with which I felt them”: The Sentimental Journey is full of this veiled Eros made of double meanings, which insinuates itself into the pages of the book and also into our imagination. This contrasted sharply with “con l’esaltazione della castit?” The predicate “delicate” is essential in a particular cultural contest”; nevertheless, it is precisely this kind of ruse that appealed to most readers of the time. “Disguise yourself however you want, still slavery!” – yet you are a bitter drink, and although thousands of people of all ages have been led to drink of you, you are not less bitter for this reason”: such is.. 1-23