Journal of a Visit to Italy
Details
When Melville visited the Italian peninsula in 1857, it was still a collection of states, including the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the Papal States, and Tuscany. But it was only four years away from achieving its centuries-long quest for unity and independence, and the geopolitical situation was obviously intensifying.
The Revolutions of 1848 had failed but were not forgotten. Bourbon police controlled the movements of foreigners (including subjects of other Italian states) using checkpoints and detailed inquiries into their names, nationalities, itineraries, social status, purpose, friends, and family. Melville experienced this vexation first-hand.
As a "Grand Tourist," he kept a daily journal of his impressions, many of which inform his later writings. The trip, funded by his father-in-law from an advance on his wife's inheritance, was intended to relieve his "morbid state of mind" following the commercial failure of Pierre (1852) and critical reviews questioning his sanity. But at Pausilippo (lit. "the place that makes pain cease") he wrote: "found not the cessation which the name expresses." And again at "Grotto of the Sybil" (the alleged entryway to the Roman underworld): "What in God’s name were such places made for, why? Surely man is a strange animal. Diving into the bowels of the earth rather than building up towards the sky. How clear an indication that he sought darkness rather than light."
For this meetup, we will read selections from Melville's "Journal of a Visit to Europe and the Levant" (February 12 to April 14).
Note: This meetup will be recorded for private use.
Journal of a Visit to Italy:
Supplemental:
This meetup is part of the series The Risorgimento.