‘In the most shining scenary of colors’ Goethe and the discovery of paradise in Naples / After visiting Rome, in February 1787, J.W. Goethe come to Naples where: «the atmosphere became more and more pure, were now in another land». In the second half of the eighteenth century, in Europa the poet of Frankfurt certainly represents the best of the advisers of myth of paradise in Naples and Campania, in Sicily too and therefore in the South of Italy, both for their luxuriant nature and for abundance of classical antiquities. In Rome Goethe had foretaste the fruit of this paradise, but it’s only to Naples and its territory that realizes of being in another, totally different from the countries of the northern countries. This paper investigates the discovery by Goethe of the Campania and the identification in this land of heaven, where nature primeval with Vesuvius (at the time of Goethe’s visit activites), the landscapes of extraordinary beauty (although during the winter season), the archaeological remains, first to Pompeii, Herculaneum and Paestum (already affected by excavations, even in part systematic), as well as collection in royal and private museums, were the testimony of «the most prodigious country in the world». With Goethe was born the need to visit the South of Italy as “Magna Grecia”, where the archaeological remains are impressive for their power and proportions, and so for them imposes the obligation of preservation. Many of these place were already known from other travel accounts, including that of his father J. Casper, who had visited Italy in 1740, but only after he had personally made this discovery, he is aware of being in paradise that is need to know: they show him the light, the colors, the fruits, the atmosphere and even the same Vesuvius, which he can see a flow, with a few danger and a lot of emotions. For a man shaped by classical culture, the South of Italy is heaven an earth for the quantity and especially the quality of the finds and the remains of classical architecture. Thanks to Goethe the western world develops the myth of the Italy and mainly South of Italy as landscape and archaeological paradise, that still attract many visitors, driven by the desire to know too, to know, to get able to live, in short, to be reborn.

Dopo avere visitato Roma, nel febbraio del 1787, J.W. Goethe giungeva a Napoli dove: «l’atmosfera si faceva sempre più pura, ormai ci trovavamo in un’altra terra». Nella seconda metà del Settecento, in Europa il poeta di Francoforte rappresentava certamente il massimo fra i divulgatori del mito del paradiso a Napoli e in Campania, ma anche in Sicilia, e dunque nel Meridione d’Italia, sia per la loro rigogliosa e sempre verde natura sia per l’abbondanza delle loro antichità classiche. A Roma Goethe aveva pregustato i frutti di questo paradiso, ma è solo visitando Napoli e il suo territorio che realizza di essere in un altro mondo, totalmente diverso dai paesi del Nord. Il presente saggio ha indagato la scoperta da parte di Goethe della Campania e l’individuazione in questa terra del paradiso, dove la natura primigenia con il Vesuvio (all’epoca della visita di Goethe in attività), i paesaggi di straordinaria bellezza (anche se durante la stagione invernale), i resti archeologici innanzi tutto di Pompei, Ercolano e Paestum (già interessati da scavi, anche in parte sistematici), così come le collezioni nei musei reali e privati, erano la testimonianza del «più prodigioso paese al mondo». Con Goethe nasce l’esigenza di visitare il Sud d’Italia come Magna Grecia, dove i resti archeologici impressionano per la loro potenza e proporzione, e dunque per essi s’impone l’obbligo della conservazione. Molti di questi luoghi gli erano già noti da altri resoconti di viaggio, compreso quello del padre J. Casper, che aveva visitato l’Italia nel 1740, ma solo dopo aver compiuto personalmente questa scoperta, è consapevole di trovarsi nel paradiso terrestre che occorre conoscere: glielo indicano la luce, i colori, i frutti, l’atmosfera e anche lo stesso Vesuvio, di cui può ammirare una colata, con poco pericolo e molte emozioni. Per un uomo plasmato dalla cultura classica, il Sud d’Italia è paradiso terrestre anche per la quantità e soprattutto qualità dei reperti e resti dell’architettura classica. Grazie a Goethe si sviluppa nel mondo occidentale il mito dell’Italia e principalmente del Sud d’Italia come paradiso paesaggistico e archeologico, che ancora oggi riesce ad attrarre tantissimi visitatori, anche loro spinti dal desiderio di conoscere, di saper vivere, insomma di rinascere.

SCADUTO, R. (2017). "Nel più fulgido scenario di colori” Goethe e la scoperta del paradiso a Napoli. In A. Aveta, Marino BG, Amore R (a cura di), La Baia di Napoli Strategie per la conservazione e la fruizione del paesaggio culturale (pp. 404-408). Napoli : artstudiopaparo.

"Nel più fulgido scenario di colori” Goethe e la scoperta del paradiso a Napoli

Scaduto Rosario
2017-01-01

Abstract

‘In the most shining scenary of colors’ Goethe and the discovery of paradise in Naples / After visiting Rome, in February 1787, J.W. Goethe come to Naples where: «the atmosphere became more and more pure, were now in another land». In the second half of the eighteenth century, in Europa the poet of Frankfurt certainly represents the best of the advisers of myth of paradise in Naples and Campania, in Sicily too and therefore in the South of Italy, both for their luxuriant nature and for abundance of classical antiquities. In Rome Goethe had foretaste the fruit of this paradise, but it’s only to Naples and its territory that realizes of being in another, totally different from the countries of the northern countries. This paper investigates the discovery by Goethe of the Campania and the identification in this land of heaven, where nature primeval with Vesuvius (at the time of Goethe’s visit activites), the landscapes of extraordinary beauty (although during the winter season), the archaeological remains, first to Pompeii, Herculaneum and Paestum (already affected by excavations, even in part systematic), as well as collection in royal and private museums, were the testimony of «the most prodigious country in the world». With Goethe was born the need to visit the South of Italy as “Magna Grecia”, where the archaeological remains are impressive for their power and proportions, and so for them imposes the obligation of preservation. Many of these place were already known from other travel accounts, including that of his father J. Casper, who had visited Italy in 1740, but only after he had personally made this discovery, he is aware of being in paradise that is need to know: they show him the light, the colors, the fruits, the atmosphere and even the same Vesuvius, which he can see a flow, with a few danger and a lot of emotions. For a man shaped by classical culture, the South of Italy is heaven an earth for the quantity and especially the quality of the finds and the remains of classical architecture. Thanks to Goethe the western world develops the myth of the Italy and mainly South of Italy as landscape and archaeological paradise, that still attract many visitors, driven by the desire to know too, to know, to get able to live, in short, to be reborn.
2017
Settore ICAR/19 - Restauro
SCADUTO, R. (2017). "Nel più fulgido scenario di colori” Goethe e la scoperta del paradiso a Napoli. In A. Aveta, Marino BG, Amore R (a cura di), La Baia di Napoli Strategie per la conservazione e la fruizione del paesaggio culturale (pp. 404-408). Napoli : artstudiopaparo.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10447/253739
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