Elements of Italy

“The turnstile into Italy has clicked continually for centuries – Lord Byron loved here and continues to draw romantics in his wake, Stendhal concluded: ‘The charm of Italy is akin to that of being in love’. Browning said: ‘Open my heart and you will see graved inside of it, “Italy”‘. Vita Sackville-West grew drunk on her rapture for this country and as Heinrich Heine noted, ‘simply letting yourself live is beautiful in Italy’. And yet Italians love their country more than any foreigner ever can. Their passion for art, architecture and life itself is what drew Lisa St Aubin de Terán to this beautiful country. She explores the work of Italians Dante, Leonardo da Vinci, Primo Levi and non-Italians Turner, Goethe, Shelley, Truman Capote, Cecil Beaton and Keats (who went to Rome to die by the Spanish Steps). She also talks about the constitutional impact of the twenty-eight governments since 1945 and the historical implications. This anthology brings together an eclectic range of voices and material on this fascinating and most beautiful of countries by one of its most ardent admireres and residents.”