Albracca (also spelled Albraca and Albrace) is a major city of

Cathay Cathay (; ) is a historical name for China that was used in Europe. During the early modern period, the term ''Cathay'' initially evolved as a term referring to what is now Northern China, completely separate and distinct from China, which ...

in the Italian romantic epics ''

Orlando innamorato ''Orlando Innamorato'' (; known in English as "''Orlando in Love''"; in Italian titled "''Orlando innamorato''" as the " I" is never capitalized) is an epic poem written by the Italian Renaissance author Matteo Maria Boiardo. The poem is a r ...

'' by

Matteo Maria Boiardo Matteo Maria Boiardo (, ; 144019/20 December 1494) was an Italian Renaissance poet, best known for his epic poem ''Orlando innamorato''. Early life Boiardo was born in 1440,

and ''

Orlando furioso ''Orlando furioso'' (; ''The Frenzy of Orlando'', more loosely ''Raging Roland'') is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was ...

'' by

Ludovico Ariosto Ludovico Ariosto (; 8 September 1474 – 6 July 1533) was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic ''Orlando Furioso'' (1516). The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's ''Orlando Innamorato'', describes the ...

. In the story it is the walled city and fortress where

Angelica ''Angelica'' is a genus of about 60 species of tall biennial and perennial herbs in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far north as Iceland, Lapland, and Greenland. They gr ...

and the knights she has befriended make their stand when attacked by Agrican, emperor of

Tartary Tartary ( la, Tartaria, french: Tartarie, german: Tartarei, russian: Тартария, Tartariya) or Tatary (russian: Татария, Tatariya) was a blanket term used in Western European literature and cartography for a vast part of Asia bound ...

. Scholars have identified Albracca with

Bukhara Bukhara ( Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and the city ...

in modern

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

, in part because the siege of Albracca by Agrican described in the ''Orlando innamorato'' resembles the historic siege of Bukhara by

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; ; xng, Temüjin, script=Latn; ., name=Temujin – August 25, 1227) was the founder and first Great Khan (Emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in history a ...

in 1220.''Orlando Innamorato'' translated by Charles Stanley Ross, Parlor Press LLC, 2004, p. 593.

Sources

*Boiardo: ''Orlando innamorato'' ed. Giuseppe Anceschi (Garzanti,1978) *Boiardo: ''Orlando innamorato'', verse translation by Charles Stanley Ross (Oxford University Press, 1995), Book I, Cantos 10-19 and Explanatory Notes, pp. 401-402. *Ariosto:''Orlando Furioso'', verse translation by

Barbara Reynolds Eva Mary Barbara Reynolds (13 June 1914 – 29 April 2015) was an English scholar of Italian Studies, lexicographer and translator. She wrote and edited several books concerning Dorothy Sayers and was president of the Dorothy L. Sayers Soci ...

in two volumes (Penguin Classics, 1975). Part one, ; part two, *Ariosto: ''Orlando Furioso'' ed. Marcello Turchi (Garzanti, 1974)

References

{{italy-stub Matter of France