Simone di Gentile Sìgoli (fl. 1384-90, esp. 1384-1385)

by Caroline Stone (See Chinese translation)

Little is known of Simone di Gentile Sìgoli (see alternative names). He was of an ancient and noble family but seems to have played no part in either the politics or the mercantile life of Florence. He had a daughter, Catarina.

Some information can be deduced from his book, Viaggio al Monte Sinai, an account of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, undertaken between August 1384 and late May 1385 with twelve companions, two of whom, Lionardo Frescobaldi and Giorgio Gucci, also wrote of their experiences. Sìgoli was accompanied by Andrea Rinuccini and his two servants; but the exact relationship is unclear.

On 10 August 1384, Simone Sìgoli set out from Florence for Venice with four of his fellow Florentines. On 4 September the group, now consisting of thirteen Tuscans, including servants, embarked for Alexandria. They travelled by way of Zante, Modone (Methoni), where one of their number, Bartolomeo, a priest from Castelfocognano died, and Corone (Koroni), reaching Alexandria on 27 September.

On 5 October, accompanied by their dragoman, or licensed guide, the party took a ship up the Nile to Cairo, arriving on 11 October. They spent a week there to visit the sights and buy provisions for their desert journey. On 19 October, they set out for Mt. Sinai and the Monastery of St Catherine, arriving on the 28th. They reached Gaza on 12 November and on the 19th headed for Bethlehem, reaching it on the 21st and Jerusalem on the following day, spending the 24th visiting the Holy Sepulchre.

The party left Jerusalem on 2 December, paying their respects on their way at Ain Karem (the Church of the Visitation) and then on through Galilee and Samaria, via Nazareth, the River Jordan and the Lake of Tiberias, reaching Damascus on 9 December. There, a number of the party were taken ill and one of the Florentines, Andrea Rinuccini, died on December 29th, followed by another, Pietro Bolognino, servant to the wine merchant Santi del Riccio on 16 January. The remaining members of the party left Damascus on 29 January 1385, reaching Beirut on 15 February and remaining there until early May, when they embarked for Venice, returning to Florence by way of Bologna.

Although in some ways, Sìgoli’s description of the pilgrimage is less detailed than certain others, he gives interesting accounts of conversations, which shed light on the attitudes of people whom he came across and the general situation of the Christian communities. He was also very fond of relating the striking and exotic tales – later considered folklore rather than theologically acceptable – which would have appealed greatly to a 14th-century audience. Like other travellers to the Holy Land, he includes a long list of the indulgences granted, since this was a very important aspect of the journey for all pilgrims.

As is pointed out in the excellent introduction to Fr. Bagatti’s edition, the Florentines, on their visit to Jerusalem, were the first to describe the guided tour of the Holy Places, which the Franciscans had formalized into what was known as the Holy Circuit. Starting out from the Holy Sepulchre in the early morning, to avoid the heat, but also to avoid attracting Muslim crowds and distractions from meditation and prayer, the pilgrims continued through the bazaar, along the Via Dolorosa, to the Josephat Gate, then on to Gethsemane, the Mount of Olives, Absalom’s Tomb, the Pool of Siloe, the Valley of Hinnon and Sion. Each of these places afforded the pilgrim indulgences and many of the accounts enumerate them. Others were added from time to time, no doubt in part to give the travellers a welcome rest and Sìgoli mentions the place where “Our Lady rested when She made the circuit” – presumably a Franciscan innovation, although not one approved by later religious authorities.

Sìgoli finished writing down his account five years after his return, on 4 October 1390, probably the last of the three travellers to do so. The account remained in manuscript until the Florentine Academia della Crusca, founded in 1583 to protect and preserve the Italian language, took an interest in it. Although arguably less informative than the other accounts, it was considered a model of fine writing and 140 words – later reduced to 53 – were extracted from it, with which to enrich the Italian vocabulary. This led to an interest being taken in the other accounts, beginning with that of Frescobaldi, first published in Rome in 1818.