Several years ago as he conducted research in a Renaissance castle filled with documents of all kinds, Professor of French and Comparative Literature Sandro Sticca uncovered the diary and navigational log kept by a 25-year-old sailor in the 1840s, as the young man served a three-year tour in the King of Naples Navy. Written in precise, flowing script, the diary also includes stunning color drawings of the ports and sights the sailor saw – including his time taking a steamship from New York City to Albany. Sticca, pictured here with the diary, is working on a book about what he gleaned from the sailor’s diary and log. Photo by Jonathan Cohen
