
Alberto Fortis (9 or 11 November 1741 – 21 October 1803) was an Italian writer, naturalist and cartographer, citizen of
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...
.
Life
His real name was Giovanni Battista Fortis (his religious name was ''Alberto'') and he was born in
Padua
Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...
on either 9 or 11 November 1741. He journeyed extensively in
Venetian Dalmatia
Venetian Dalmatia () refers to the territories of Dalmatia under the rule of the Republic of Venice, mainly from the 15th to the 18th centuries. Dalmatia was first sold to Venice in 1409 but Venetian Dalmatia was not fully consolidated until 1420, ...
. His best-known work is ''
Viaggio in Dalmazia'' (Journey to Dalmatia), originally published in 1774 and first published in London in 1778.
The highlight of the book is the description of
Morlachia, a historical region currently located in Croatia named after the
Morlachs
Morlachs ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Morlaci, Морлаци; ; ) is an exonym used for a rural Christian community in Herzegovina, Lika and the Dalmatian Hinterland. The term was initially used for a bilingual Vlach pastoralist community in the mountain ...
that inhabited the region. In his book, Fortis presented his literary discovery "Hasanaginica" as a Morlach (Vlach) ballad. Larry Wolff believed Fortis wrote the ballad as a poetry of South Slavs rather than a poetry of the Morlachs. Fortis believed that the
Morlachs
Morlachs ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Morlaci, Морлаци; ; ) is an exonym used for a rural Christian community in Herzegovina, Lika and the Dalmatian Hinterland. The term was initially used for a bilingual Vlach pastoralist community in the mountain ...
preserved their old customs
and clothes. Their ethnographic traits were traditional clothing, use of the
gusle
The gusle () or lahuta (; related to English ''lute'') is a bowed single- stringed musical instrument (and musical style) traditionally used in the Dinarides region of Southeastern Europe (in the Balkans). The instrument is always accompanie ...
musical instrument accompanied with epic singing. He also published several specimens of Morlach songs. Fortis noted that the Slavic-speaking Morlachs called themselves “Vlachs”, but refuted the assumption that they might be related to the Latin-speaking
Vlachs
Vlach ( ), also Wallachian and many other variants, is a term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate speakers of Eastern Romance languages living in Southeast Europe—south of the Danube (the Balkan peninsula ...
.
Alberto Fortis's account of the Morlachs, translated into French, English and German brought the
Morlachs
Morlachs ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Morlaci, Морлаци; ; ) is an exonym used for a rural Christian community in Herzegovina, Lika and the Dalmatian Hinterland. The term was initially used for a bilingual Vlach pastoralist community in the mountain ...
to the attention of Europe. This started a new literary movement known as
Morlachism.
The Croatian writer
Ivan Lovrić, who wrote ''Osservazioni di Giovanni Lovrich sopra diversi pezzi del viaggio in Dalmazia del signor abbot Alberto Fortis coll'aggiunta della vita di Soçivizça'' ("Observations of Giovanni Lovrich
van Lovrićon several pieces of the journey to Dalmatia of Mr. Abbot Alberto Fortis with the addition of the life of Soçivizça"), accused Fortis of many factual errors, which he attempted to rectify. ''Travels into Dalmatia'' played an important role in bringing the Dalmatian culture to the attention of Europe during the rise of
Romantic notions about folklore. Dalmatian
hinterlands became epitomized by ''
Hasanaginica'', a folk ballad that was first written down by Fortis.
In 1795 Fortis was elected
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
in London. He died in Bologna eight years later on 21 October 1803.
Works

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortis, Alberto
1741 births
1803 deaths
Writers from Padua
Fellows of the Royal Society
18th-century Venetian writers
Italian naturalists
18th-century naturalists
19th-century naturalists
History of Dalmatia
Venetian period in the history of Croatia
18th-century Italian cartographers
Scholars from the Republic of Venice