Reference edition:

Milani C., Itinerarium Antonini Placentini: un viaggio in Terra Santa del 560-570 d.C,, Milano 1977.

The tradition of Itinerarium Antonini Placentini (IAP) is divided into two versions of the text: the simpler recensio prior and the more complex recensio altera for which there is also a recensio breviata. In the late nineteenth century, Gildemeister and Geyer demonstrated that the original text is transmitted by the recensio prior overturning the earlier hypothesis that recensio altera's text was the original. The recensio altera is, in fact, a Carolingian remake, evident in its overall tendency towards normalizing the Latin language throughout the text.

The recensio prior is transmitted by manuscripts Sangallensis 113 (G) and Rhenaugiensis (now Turicensis) 73 (R), while the recensio altera is transmitted by nineteen manuscripts, three of which have been lost. The oldest manuscript is G which dates back to the end of the eighth century, or at the beginning of the ninth; this is also the only manuscript of this work redacted before Charlemagne's reform (789, Capitulare De scholis).

The narrative follows an anonymous author on his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, presumed to have taken place during the second half of the sixth century A.D. or the first half of the seventh. The terminus ante quem is 637 when Jerusalem was taken by the Arabs during the Muslim conquest of the Levant. The mention of an earthquake in Berito narrows the date down to circa 560.

Despite the author stating his intention to begin the account of his travels from his hometown, Piacenza, the narrative actually starts from Constantinople through the Middle East. Cities such as Caanan, Nazareth, and Bethlehem are mentioned, along with significant landmarks for biblical tradition, such as the tomb of Rachel and the Garden of Gethsemane. The text concludes with a mention of the Euphrates River; in the "recensio altera," there is an actual concluding paragraph, quite surely a later addition. This peculiarity can be explained by considering that the author of the recensio prior aimed to provide an account of the biblical-related stops of the pilgrim, while the author of the recensio altera sought to give a better-crafted facade to the entire text.

Regarding language, the Latin used is far from clear, being rather convoluted and full of variations. Notably, the present participle is widely used, sometimes even substituting finished verbs.

Lastly, concerning IAP's Nachleben, this text is thematically close to some passages of Gregory of Tours' Historia Francorum and Liber in gloria martyrum, as well as Bede's De locis sanctis and Adamnán of Iona's homonymous work. As for the itinerarium genre itself, Willibald's Hodoeporicon shows some analogies with IAP, but they appear to be mere literary recalls. Generally speaking, these descriptions of loca sancta are anchored to the devotional aspect, as seen in Peter the Deacon's Liber de locis sanctis. [Bianca Arici]