In 1786, when he was already the acknowledged leader of the Sturm und Drang literary movement, Goethe set out on a journey to Italy to fulfil a personal and artistic quest and to find relief from his responsi- bilities and the agonies of unrequited love. As he travelled to Venice, Rome, Naples and Sicily he wrote many letters, which he later used as the basis for the Italian Journey. A journal full of fascinating observa- tions on art and history, and the plants, landscape and the character of the local people he encountered, this is also a moving account of the psychological crisis from which Goethe emerged newly inspired to write the great works of his mature years.
W. H. Auden and Elizabeth Mayer's translation captures the vitality, humour and immediacy of Goethe's timeless chronicle. Their introduc- tion examines the circumstances of the journey and presents this work as the ideal starting point for a reading of Goethe.