Luften så klar

Roland Lysell, Mattias Pirholt, Anna Smedberg Bondesson

Even on the most desolate and unhealthy side of Campagna di Roma, the one to Ostia, the air is so clear that in its sharpest features it shows the farthest objects. The enchanting contours and perspectives of the soft melting distance the harmoniously reddish in the air, which spreads over all objects at the rising and setting of the sun? (Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom remembers his trip to Italy 1817-19) Artists, writers and other cultural personalities in northern Europe have longed for Italy at least from Goethe onwards. This collection of essays provides a broad perspective on the northern European image of Italy from the late 18th century to the middle of the 20th century. We get to follow both Goethe and H.C. Andersen and Georg Brandes on their Italian travels, experience the poet John Keat's last days, see the works of the painters Gustaf Söderberg, Gustaf Wilhelm Palm, Carl...