Italian Journey

In 1786, thirty-seven-year-old Johann Wolfgang Goethe set off for Italy. He traveled incognito, under the name of merchant Meller, and visited Lake Garda, Verona, Vicenza, Venice, Bologna, Rome, the Alban Hills, Naples, and Sicily. In 1788, the poet returned to his homeland, and in 1816-1817, his "Italian Journey" was published. This work differed from traditional travel notes in that it was written many years after the author's return from the trip. However, based on diaries and letters from those years, the "Italian Journey" still retains the freshness of impressions, supplemented by mature reflections and polished to true literary perfection. Joseph Brodsky, compiling his list of works that every person should read to maintain at least a "basic conversation", included another work by Goethe alongside "Faust" — the delightful "Italian Journey".