Un corsaro in Liguria: l’arco ligure ne La lunga strada di sabbia di Pier Paolo Pasolini

This paper offers an analysis of the first part of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s La lunga strada di sabbia, the report of a journey along the Italian coast – from Ventimiglia to Trieste – commissioned by the magazine “Successo” in 1959. The long coastal tour – particularly in Liguria – is a means to celebrate, by brief notes, the beauty of the summer landscape, but it is also, and above all, an opportunity to investigate features of contemporary society. Consequently, Pasolini’s account can be considered an anthropological essay which addresses Italy at the beginning of the economic boom from a writer’s unusual and critical point of view. After a survey of the editions of the text, the paper follows in Pasolini’s footsteps through significant Ligurian places, cities and resorts. The last section discusses the use and importance of images and photographs which appeared in the original periodical publications of Pasolini’s travelogue.