Sizilien

Sicily has always been one of the classic destinations for cultural travelers, and "Italy without Sicily leaves no image in the soul: here is the key to everything," noted Johann Wolfgang Goethe in his Italian Journey. Goethe's travel report, along with that of Baron von Riedesel and Johann Gottfried Seume's walk to Syracuse, marks the beginning of the tourist exploration of the largest Italian island. "Sicily as a travel destination" forms the first part of this Sicily reader. A completely different picture is conveyed by the texts of local authors in the second part, prominently featuring Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's The Leopard. Alongside Giovanni Verga, Elio Vittorino, Leonardo Sciascia, Vincenzo Console, and Gesualdo Bufalino, Lampedusa is among the Sicilians who have significantly shaped Italian literature, and with Luigi Pirandello and Giuseppe Quasimodo, he has...