Equipment for the Journey
Lists or descriptions of the things to be taken on the journey are not usually to be found in the pages of accounts, which generally had loftier ambitions, but they certainly occupied the attention and concern of travelers. However they viewed the idea of spending a long time away from home, as an alluring or alarming prospect, travelers had to be provident, although some may have taken this to an excess, as the infrastructure was not what it is today and the fashion, although widespread, was still young.
There is a rich range of artwork, most of it satirical in character, devoted to the means of transport, conditions and mishaps of the journey. The museums of several cities also contain rich collections of hotel labels, visiting cards, advertisements for private transport companies and other exhibits from a world teeming with initiatives from which Italians, in the areas touched by the Tour, made considerable profits.