Italienische Reise — Band 1

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Italienische Reise — Band 1" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is a travel account written between 1813 and 1817, describing his Italian journey from September 1786 to May 1788. Fleeing artistic stagnation and court life in Weimar, Goethe traveled incognito through Italy, seeking renewal among ancient ruins and Renaissance masterpieces. Based on his travel diaries but heavily revised decades later, the work chronicles his route from Karlsbad through Venice to Rome, where he immersed himself in art and antiquity while grappling with his dual existence as poet and statesman.