Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Italian Journey is a memorable picture of Italy at the end of the eighteenth century. Italian Journey portrays Goethe’s joy and struggle to satisfy his intellectual curiosity and commitment to understanding art. “With great objects [of art] around,” he said, the purpose of his trip was “to learn and to improve myself ere I am forty years old.” (He began the journey at 37.) Goethe traveled throughout Italy from 1786 to 1788. Upon arriving he declared his “delight that the language I always […]

Categories: Tucker Cox, ZiR • Tags: travel