Comment on 17.1.-14.2.1797
A speronaro is a coasting vessel.
Thorvaldsen had already arranged with captain of the boat that he could sail with them to Palermo. Peder Pavels’ diary of 29.12.1796 reads: “This afternoon came news that tomorrow there will be a chance for Thorvaldsen to go to Palermo on a Speronare.” (Sørensen & Schirò, op. cit., p. 55).
However, he was not able to place his luggage in the speronaro until 11.1.1797 so that he was ready to leave if the weather suddenly turned good, see Sørensen & Schirò, op. cit., p. 60-61, which also mentions that for a while Thorvaldsen considered taking another speronaro directly to Naples, but this plan rejected.
Concerning speronaroes, see Andreas Christian Gierlew: Breve over Italien og Sicilien paa en Rejse i Aarene 1803 og 1804, vol. 2, Copenhagen 1807, p. 234.
Last updated 17.03.2015