Beerenbroek, [Reisbeschrijving naar Rome en terug 1770-1773]. [S.l.], [1785].
On April 9, 1770, Bartholomeus Beerenbroek (1745-1811) set out for Rome to study there for three years. He was 25 years old and had entered the Norbertine order a few years earlier. He traveled with Adrianus Heijlen (1745-1802), a member of the same order. Heijlen and Beerenbroek kept a kind of diary during their journey: concise and written in Latin. Upon their return, they elaborated it into a narrative account, highly readable and at times even gripping. Bartholomeus's account, which ended up in the Nijmegen University Library, is lively and illustrated with numerous stories. We read about traveling by stagecoach, the quality of beer in various German cities, and excursions from Rome to other Italian cities. It also includes illustrations based on existing prints. This account was intended for his family. As a priest in a monastery he was not able to tell all his stories, but on paper he told them in detail.
Other copies of his report and that of Heijlen are now in the Abbey of Berne (Heeswijk Dinter) and in the Royal Library in Brussels.