Tracce d'Oriente. Gesuiti siciliani nella Cina del Celeste Impero

Talking about Sicily at the time of the Jesuit missionaries in China does not convey simply one idea but many, and all decisive for a new perspective of conservation and enhancement of memory. Concretely, it entails looking at plentiful memories of places and people with mindful eyes, through which to demonstrate that those who arrived in China were not just evangelizers, but brilliant minds devoted to the growth of the local population also on a cultural and artistic level. These are aspects that are still not fully explored since we have little information about the Jesuits who left for China, most of which related to their evangelizing work and the mediation necessary to enter the Chinese imperial court. Almost nothing is known, instead, about their families, the personal and political networks that allowed their departure, the attitude of the ruling classes of the island - aristocracy, urban nobility, togated - towards the missionary impetus that animated the young Jesuits , among whom were many of their relatives; and, above all, why Sicily became the place where the idea of China matured as a missionary horizon.