I will not be blogging about shoes or crochet.

                                             


On the day that Lucy Hughes-Hallett wins the Samuel Johnson Prize 2013 for her book The Pike: Gabriele D'Annunzio, my thoughts turn to Italy and Lake Garda. and another holiday with Max & Molly
You visit another country for the express purpose of tasting great wine and food,experiencing the scenery and learning a little about the culture. You admit ignorance in order to open the explorer in you.
Images and present day observations flood in along with a country's past. Following a group of Italian young adults we entered ILVittoriale degli Italiani as tourists, with a limited audio tour guide we were exposed to a fascinating, incredible if slightly repellent shrine or citadel to Gabrielle d'Annunzio. I would suggest that you read this book before you visit otherwise you will have a frustrating time trying to understand the man, the society and the complex presentation of the image. Rushed through his house, you are not permitted to take photographs, the audio guide is only suggestive and one is unable to ask questions. Yet it is obvious that this is a shrine .


                                     


 This poet and writer is a main stay of Italian culture and as such explains some of their fascinating history as a nation. Always complex and at times uncomfortable with the connections with Mussolini there is no denying that these beautiful gardens and opulent house are well worth a visit. Our group spent many hours discussing our individual views and opinions on the man, his relationship with women and society in general. I bought the tour guide and read, which only resulted in more questions and so then came home and ordered even more books.

                                         

But it was the gardens that lingered in my mind. The structure, layout and formal patterns. The observation points and the secret places. The running water and the shrines. Maybe it was the weather that day but the whole place had a feeling of melancholy with uncomfortable overtones, it did not feel a happy place. Tombs, ships and symbols of war combined with sexual imagery gave this garden a power all of its own.

And how did I find his writing? Well, an Italian DH Lawrence would be a good reference point with more political overtones. It is accessible, compelling, seductive, descriptive and above all beautiful. Even in translation. I felt as thought I was experiencing every thought, every movement in a dreamlike state. Sometimes it was distastefully descriptive but in a magnetising way, especially when describing typhus in The Virgin Orsa. Mesmeric and invidious.Have I said enough? 

Not a light read, a quick read possibly, if you are not drawn into his dark world. But a read that will shake your English soul into understanding the undercurrent of Italian emotion.

And the reference to shoes, well I look to Lucy Hughes-Hallett book to find out the answer to this cryptic statement.

The great thing about travel is that it does broaden the mind and inform the soul.