Voyage en Italie

In 1580, Aquitaine was one of the epicentres of what became known as the Wars of Religion. The Reformed took up arms in the vicinity of the Château de Montaigne. Henri de Navarre and his troops took Monségur and Cahors.

On the morning of 22 June, Montaigne jumped on his horse and set off on a long journey - seventeen months and eight days - which, after Saint-Maur-des-Fossés where the king had taken refuge from the plague, Switzerland and Germany, would take him to Rome, where he would have the privilege of kissing the Pope's slipper. Far from being a wise man secluded in his library, Montaigne was (to use Michel Didym's expression) "a man on the move".

This is how he recounts his adventure in Journal de voyage en Italie, which was only found by chance in a forgotten trunk at the end of the 18th century. In this work, which is less
less well known than the Essays, he recorded a wide range of observations on everyday life and the political and religious institutions of his time. He was interested in everything: what people saw, what they ate, what they thought, and for him travel was a perpetual spectacle.

Here, Michel Didym brings the story of this journey to the stage: we follow Montaigne, hoisted onto his horse, and his escort: secretary, groom, hen... and, in so doing, he gives voice to the thoughts of the illustrious traveller who invented a language that was also on the move, abandoning Latin in favour of French.