La Siberia dal finestrino di un treno: appunti per un ‘testo transiberiano’ nei libri di viaggio italiani

Siberia from the Window of a Train: Notes for a ‘Trans-Siberian Text’ in Italian Travel Books A journey on the Trans-Siberian railway has been an extremely attractive tourist itinerary since the opening (the beginning of the 1900s) of the railway which, from Moscow to Vladivostok, passes through two continents. Today, this popularity has been confirmed by the numerous travel books on the topic, available on the publishing market both in Italy and abroad. Just as in every modern tourist activity, the Trans-Siberian journey moves in a framework of pre-codified images; this is even more true as regards the Siberian territory, which abounds in natural-geographic attractions and also historical-cultural ones. The aim of this work is to analyse the idea of Siberia which is reflected in Italian travel books and to compare it with the complex Russian mythologem, in an attempt to understand the sources of, and reasons for, such a long-lasting and remarkable fascination.