Unknown, Piacenza Itinerary R 46
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/62
Context
A pilgrim from Piacenza (ancient Placentia) in north central Italy
wrote an account of his travels in Egypt, Palestine, Syria during the 570s. The work was
once erroneously attributed to St. Antoninus, martyr of Piacenza, but its authorship is
unknown. This early document, which combines both topographic inaccuracies and colorful
observations, furnishes rich evidence for the personal experience of pilgrimage and the
development of Christian cult-places in Late Antiquity. The text exists three versions
with differences in diction and content: the Recensio Prior (G and
R), two codices of early medieval origin with the same relationship to the text of the
Itinerary; and the Recensio Altera (a), a group of
codices that are inferior in various ways (Milani 1977, pp. 47-69). The text used here
(R) is the best and fullest, and it shows the linguistic standardization of the
Carolingian reform; the other texts of the Recensiones Prior et
Altera do not diverge significantly in the passage concerning Caesarea.
This passage refers to pilgrim’s stop on the road between Jerusalem and Joppa and
Galilee and Damascus at Caesarea, where he sees the Christian sites.
Text
Iterum venientes Hierusolimam, ubi etiam aegrotus remansi per multum
tempus. Evidenter oculata fide vidi beatam Euphemiam per visionem et beatum Antonium;
quomodo venerunt, sanaverunt me. Egressus de Hierusolima descendi in Ioppe. Ibi iacet
sancta Tabitha quae et Dorcas dicitur. Deinde veni Caesaream
Philippi, quae turris Stratonis, quae et Caesarea
Palaestinae vocatur. In qua requiescit sanctus Pamphilus, sanctus
Procopius, sanctus Cornelius, ex cuius lectu benedictionem tulimus. Inde per Galilaeam
ascendimus et venimus Damascum. Ibi est monasterium ad miliario secundo, ubi sanctus
Paulus est conversus, vicus qui vocatur rectus, in quo loco multae fiunt virtutes.
Deinde venimus Heliopoli, et exinde venimus Emiza, ubi est caput sancti Iohannis
baptistae qui est missus in doleo vitreo, quem etiam intra doleum oculis nostris vidimus
et adoravimus. Exinde transeuntes per civitates, hoc est Larissa Aristosa et Epifania,
venimus in civitatem splendidissimam Apamiam, in qua est omnis nobilitas Syrorum.1
Textual Note
Ed. Geyer 1965 and Milani 1977Textual Note
Codex Turicensis Zentralbibliothek 73 (ca. 800-842 C.E.)Corrigenda Note
Minor corrections (spelling)Translation
Arriving again at Jerusalem, I remained there sick for a long time.
Evidently by my keen-sighted faith I saw the blessed Euphemia in a vision and the
blessed Antonius; just as they came, they healed me. I left Jerusalem and went down to
Joppe. There lies St. Tabitha, also called Dorcas. Then I came to
Caesarea Philippi, which is also called Strato’s
Tower and Caesarea Palestinae. There resting in
peace are St. Pamphilus, St. Procopius, and St. Cornelius, from whose bed we took
blessing. Next we went up through Galilee and came to Damascus. A monastery is there at
the second milestone where St. Paul was converted, the street called Straight, where
many special deeds come about. Then we came to Heliopolis, and from there to Emiza,
where the head of John the Baptist is in a glass jar; we saw it in the jar with our own
eyes, and we worshipped it. From there, passing through the cities of Larissa, Aristosa,
and Epifania, we came to the most magnificent city of Apamia, where all the nobles of
Syria dwell.2
Translation Note
Adapted from Stewart 1885Works Cited
- 1 Unknown, Antonini Placentini Itinerarium, in Itineraria et alia geographica, ed. Paul Geyer, vol. 1, 2 vols., Corpus Christianorum: series Latina 175 (Turnhout: Brepols, 1965), ch: R 46.
- 2 p: 35-36. , p: 35-36.
Additional Bibliography
- Celestina Milani, Itinerarium Antonini Placentini: Un viaggio in Terra Santa del 560-570 d.C., Scienze filologiche e letteratura (Milan: Vita e pensiero: Pubblicazioni della Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 1977), ch: R 46.
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Unknown, Piacenza Itinerary R 46,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/62.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Unknown, Piacenza Itinerary R 46.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published June 30, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/62.About this Entry
Entry Title: Unknown, Piacenza Itinerary R 46
Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:
- Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
- Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
- David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editor, “Unknown, Piacenza Itinerary R 46”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Unknown, Piacenza Itinerary R 46”
Additional Credit:
- Testimonium edited by Joseph L. Rife
- TEI record created by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium translated by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium transcribed by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium identified by Joseph L. Rife
- Editorial review by Joseph L. Rife
- TEI encoding by William L. Potter
- Testimonium edited by Joseph L. Rife
- Electronic text added by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife