Italy and Ideas: A Literary Tour
Travelers to Italy often know something about its art and cuisine, but few have experienced its literature. In a historical sweep from the Middle Ages to the present, we’ll look at great works from Syracuse, Florence, Ferrara, Venice, Milan, and Naples. We’ll consider a different city’s masterwork each week to understand its rich history and heritage as well as the cultural formation of individual Italians. Participants may read the works or simply attend the lectures to hear each work’s historic, social, and political contexts. Benvenuti!
Beverly Allen, Ph.D., has taught at UC Santa Cruz, Stanford University, Cornell University, and the University of Zagreb, and is professor emerita at Syracuse University. Her current topics of study include Gnosticism, early Christianity and the figure of Mary Magdalene, Dante and the Sacred Feminine, fairy tales, Medieval European heresy and courtly love, Jung’s work, and the literature of Italy’s storied cities. She travels often to Italy and Scandinavia.