April 25, 2025

Goethe, the ante-litteram Erasmus student with his “Journey to Italy”

I consider  all men as my compatriots and embrace a Pole as I do a Frenchman, setting this national bond after the universal and common one.

With these words, the French philosopher Michel de Montaigne commented, in his Essais of 1580, how intelligence and taste for the arts were qualities independent of social status and above all from the origin of the individual.

A lesson learned from experience, after months spent abroad to discover customs, traditions and cultures of distant populations. A dream of European unity ante litteram, realized through the fascinating routes of the Grand Tour, the long journey that poets and young aristocrats made in the main capitals of continental Europe to complete their training and perfect their knowledge.

Like the modern Erasmus program, the Gran Tour represented a sort of rite of passage from youth to the world of adults. Discover the outside world through the culture of your own Continent, including works of art, breathtaking landscapes and meetings with the greatest men of knowledge of the time. And Italy was the destination par excellence thanks to the countless treasures preserved over the centuries.

From Montaigne to Stendhal, from Keats to Mary Shelley, many well-known writers have decided to embark on the famous journey, but one name among all has left its traces over time: it is that of the celebrated German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, whose fame is inextricably linked to his famous work “Journey to Italy”.

Written between 1813 and 1817, after almost thirty years, “Italianische Reise” represents not a simple collection of travel notes, but the careful and precise reworking of experiences, sensations and emotions lived during a stay that lasted almost two years . And the chosen form, that of the epistolary novel, was an almost obligatory step to fully represent the reflections on the very meaning of the journey, on the expectations before departure and on what actually happened.

“At 3 in the morning I got away from Karlsbad fearing that otherwise they wouldn’t let me leave. The friends, who had so cordially wanted to celebrate my birthday on August 28, had thereby acquired the right to restrain me, but I could not stay longer. Carrying with me only a mantel and a suitcase, I threw myself, alone, in a postal carriage and arrived in Zwoda at half past seven on a foggy, but beautiful and calm morning. The higher clouds were like woolly stripes, the lower ones were dense. They seemed to me a good omen: I hoped to be able to enjoy a pleasant autumn after such a bad summer season.”

September 1786. Goethe had just turned thirty-seven, when he chose to detach himself from the literal and political commitments covered in the Duchy of Weimar, to undertake the journey that would change his life. It was time to leave. And so, having obtained a sort of license from the Duke of Weimar, under the false name of Jean Philippe Möller, Goethe left for Italy, accompanied only by a hanger holder and a briefcase. Its the beginning of a journey of rebirth and initiation, to discover what he will consider, on return, his ideal homeland.

Goethe’s need to know Italy had nurtured since childhood, ever since his father, a famous jurist, following a trip to the Belpaese, had given him indelible memories, made of Roman prints and miniature gondolas. But above all he had cultivated the idea that it was necessary to visit Italy to complete the path of a rigorous training path. A land of inspiration and artistic warmth, Italy immediately appeared to him as an open-air museum, where you could be enchanted by the charm of the ancient buildings, completely immersing yourself in the places and nature in which that ancient developed and discovering the true nature of the people.

The journey went well beyond the original plan: he stayed in Italy for two years, discovering the charm of the ruins of Rome, heir to a great Empire, visiting Naples, a “paradise” between land and sea, and stopping in Sicily, direct testimony of the power of Greek architecture.

But like all self-respecting journeys, this training journey became a revelation, where the unexpected and the surprising touched the strings of the protagonist’s soul forever.

“I leave on this wonderful journey not to deceive myself but to get to know myself,” he wrote two weeks after departure, still ignoring that that journey would change him forever.

Related Posts

In Potenza the Italian Multiplier Event of the Erasmus+ KA2 VET “Vir2TEX” project

April 19, 2023

April 19, 2023

Meeting students and teachers is always a fantastic emotion that turns into a beautiful experience and many great memories that...

Students will learn lessons with VR technology

July 26, 2023

July 26, 2023

“Digital Education Materials for Sustainable Textile Education (Vir2TEX)” Erasmus Plus project held the final meeting Ege students will learn lessons...

Berlink, the university and an Erasmus+ internship: Raffaella’s experience in Berlin

October 19, 2022

October 19, 2022

My name is Raffaella, I’m 22 years old and I’m currently graduating in my bachelor’s degree at the University of...

The Burnout Experience: impressions from the Reintegrate Wellbeing’s Mini Job Fair

August 8, 2024

August 8, 2024

On June 28th and 29th, the Uber Eats Music Hall in Berlin became a hub of opportunity and empowerment during...

Training – Experience – Welfare: the three key elements of any Erasmus Plus projects

May 10, 2021

May 10, 2021

After few weeks from the approval of the new 2021-2027 call of Erasmus Plus Programme, an important deadline is getting...

A wall that divides, a wall that unites: Erasmus+ in Berlin talking about history, values and Europe

May 17, 2022

May 17, 2022

With the end of the Second World War and with a weakened and destroyed Europe, there was a geopolitical reorganization...

Professional & Cultural Experiences of Young Landscape Architecture Students in Spain

May 15, 2023

May 15, 2023

Since April 24, 2023, the students from IVTK have been doing a four-week internship in Malaga – a charming city...

WISE: the Italian Transnational Meeting of the Erasmus+ KA2 project

February 25, 2022

February 25, 2022

Few days ago the Italian Transnational Meeting of the Erasmus Plus KA2 project “WISE – Woman, Innovative, Successful, Empowered” was...

An Amarcord and a piadina passing under the Arch of Augustus: when Erasmus+ in Rimini turns into a movie

June 10, 2022

June 10, 2022

According to popular opinion, the city of Rimini evokes many things: sea and sun, fun, sport, food and culture, the...

Bulgarian Students in Berlin Boost their Skills Digitally through Innovative Educational Project

June 5, 2023

June 5, 2023

13 students from the Vocational school of transport “Prof. Tsvetan Lazarov” in Pleven, Bulgaria have become a shining example of...

Erasmus+ KA2 “SkillsAct4Vet” project: the platform for the training of VET teachers is active

December 16, 2021

December 16, 2021

The SkillsAct4Vet project coordinated by Tribeka has entered an exciting phase now, after the Transnational Project Meeting held in Athens...

Erasmus+ KA2 Mob4app project: the Berlink team and the Final Meeting in Madrid

September 15, 2022

September 15, 2022

As part of the Final Transnational Project Meeting, we as representatives of the Berlink team travelled to Madrid to meet...

ETN for the fifth time in a row is nominated for the ST Star Awards in London

February 21, 2020

February 21, 2020

We are very happy to announce that, for the fifth consecutive time, we will participate in the ST Star Awards...

The DiTwin project: a digital future for VET Schools

August 8, 2024

August 8, 2024

Since last October, our Irish agency, Training Vision, has been part of an exciting project that aims to revolutionize vocational...

P.iR.A.M.i.D. Project: Survey Insights and Theoretical Model

December 10, 2024

December 10, 2024

The first result of the ErasmusPlus KA220 Cooperation Project PiR.A.M.iD (Path for Intercultural Awareness, Measurement and Development) coordinated by Tribeka...

Comments
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Newsletter