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От Милана до Рима
The Tuscan landscape, writes H. V. Morton, "is embroidered everywhere by human living, and there is scarcely a hill, a stream, a grove of trees, without its story of God, of love or death." Morton's stories and observations of Tuscany, Lombardy, Emilia, and Veneto, whether relating to the fantastic reconstruction of the La Scala opera house or the superstitious lovers at Juliet's Tomb, make his style as engaging as the landscape and people he evokes.
736 pages
First published January 1, 1964
15 people are currently reading
258 people want to read
About the author
H.V. Morton
113 books50 followersHenry Canova Vollam (H.V.) Morton, FRSL, was a journalist and pioneering travel writer from Lancashire, England, best known for his prolific and popular books on Britain and the Holy Land. He first achieved fame in 1923 when, while working for the Daily Express, he scooped the official Times correspondent during the coverage of the opening of the Tomb of Tutankhamon by Howard Carter in Egypt.
In the late 1940s he moved to South Africa, settling near Cape Town in Somerset West and became a South African citizen.
In the late 1940s he moved to South Africa, settling near Cape Town in Somerset West and became a South African citizen.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 14, 2007
This book was given to me as a gift years ago (in 2000 maybe?) and I'd read the first few chapters without really getting into it. Recently, though, I picked it up and couldn't put it down. Morton is one of the best travel writers of the 20th century, able to nimbly weave together anecdotes with carefully researched history into one compelling travel narrative. It's as though the smartest person you know spent several years studying history, archaeology, art, religion, gastronomy, and geography and then took you on a private guided tour of Italy.
May 9, 2012
Henry Vollum Morton (how could I resist his full name?) did not cover the whole of Italy in his travels here, but rather a chunk in the middle of the country.
He writes with such knowledge I presumed he was an historian, but he was a journalist, working for The Express and The Times in London. His learning melts seamlessly into the writing – which is effortlessly peppered with history, art, architecture, anecdotes, observations and meetings with different people.
I found the book rather patchy though. I enjoyed the beginning – his explorings in Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Umbria were wonderful....and the section on Venice was an absolute delight, but I found the final bit – about Tuscany – rather boring.
The book is also quite detailed in its discussions about people and events in major Italian families - and the ins and outs of these discussions were rather too complex for me to follow, even with the help of an appendix at the end of the book citing the main players & their relationships.
Most of all I enjoyed his quirky stories....
Re the Scala Opera House in Milan : “Here opera lovers would arrive with their servants and their dinners, which were heated up in a restaurant on the premises. The boxes had sitting rooms with fireplaces and card tables....and the Grand Duke’s box even had a bedroom.” Berlioz mentions in his Mémoires that he could not follow the opera because of the clatter of cutlery.”
I would have given the book another star had his observations about Tuscany been as pleasurable as the previous chapters.
He writes with such knowledge I presumed he was an historian, but he was a journalist, working for The Express and The Times in London. His learning melts seamlessly into the writing – which is effortlessly peppered with history, art, architecture, anecdotes, observations and meetings with different people.
I found the book rather patchy though. I enjoyed the beginning – his explorings in Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Umbria were wonderful....and the section on Venice was an absolute delight, but I found the final bit – about Tuscany – rather boring.
The book is also quite detailed in its discussions about people and events in major Italian families - and the ins and outs of these discussions were rather too complex for me to follow, even with the help of an appendix at the end of the book citing the main players & their relationships.
Most of all I enjoyed his quirky stories....
Re the Scala Opera House in Milan : “Here opera lovers would arrive with their servants and their dinners, which were heated up in a restaurant on the premises. The boxes had sitting rooms with fireplaces and card tables....and the Grand Duke’s box even had a bedroom.” Berlioz mentions in his Mémoires that he could not follow the opera because of the clatter of cutlery.”
I would have given the book another star had his observations about Tuscany been as pleasurable as the previous chapters.
March 10, 2016
This and the accompanying voume, A Traveller in Southern Italy, are the best travel books on Italy that I have ever found. They are anecdotal and consistently fascinating and readable. Too bad I discovered later that the British author was anti-semitic and a nasty piece of work. But these two volumes are amazing.
April 7, 2025
Morton wrote about a dozen books about faraway lands, traveling the world in the 1920's through the 1960's, and I am a big fan of his work. His perspective is non-modern, and his description of places, mostly European, verges on the 19th century in it's eye for the continuity of history and culture - Morton will visit a villa, meet the descendants of an Opera singer or political figure, describe at length the interrelations of royal European bloodlines, the comings and goings of Popes and Princes, etc etc. The reader gets the feeling he has been privileged to enter a place and a time before tour busses rolled across the land, when small towns in Italy were undiscovered by the madding crowd. Picture yourself in a black and white movie taking place in Italy in 1910 - that's the feeling you get reading Morton's work. I highly recommend any in his series, especially this one and "A Stranger in Spain".
February 10, 2023
Nothing beats a guided tour. The ease of modern transportation enables freedom of movement, however conditional on the decoupling of the guide and the guided. H. V. Morton, a journalist well-versed in Italy and versed well in Italian, saved me the bother this time in Italy.
The itinerant meandered through Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Tuscany, before ending in Umbria. I soon discovered that he was only assigning Rome and beyond for several other books published between 1957 and 1969.
72-year-old at the time of publishing, Morton outdistanced me in terms of the length of journey, proving that rheumatism does not bar you from venturing out and about.
Senility in adventures is always mismatched with haggardness. What he exhibited—sobriety of a bystander and inebriety of a partygoer—runs counter to the popular misconception. I lack the depth of knowledge to achieve the former; being a self-serving young adult ruins the fun of the latter, although I am making progress.
How lucky am I to have chanced upon this 1964 first edition at Librairie Jousseaume, situated at a quaint, dimly-lit Parisian passage, in the nick of time, before the namesake owner was departing for the new year’s eve.
Once again, an oldman’s second sight drove him to have extended business for the Asian tourist. And it turned out to be a win-win situation for both.
The itinerant meandered through Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Tuscany, before ending in Umbria. I soon discovered that he was only assigning Rome and beyond for several other books published between 1957 and 1969.
72-year-old at the time of publishing, Morton outdistanced me in terms of the length of journey, proving that rheumatism does not bar you from venturing out and about.
Senility in adventures is always mismatched with haggardness. What he exhibited—sobriety of a bystander and inebriety of a partygoer—runs counter to the popular misconception. I lack the depth of knowledge to achieve the former; being a self-serving young adult ruins the fun of the latter, although I am making progress.
How lucky am I to have chanced upon this 1964 first edition at Librairie Jousseaume, situated at a quaint, dimly-lit Parisian passage, in the nick of time, before the namesake owner was departing for the new year’s eve.
Once again, an oldman’s second sight drove him to have extended business for the Asian tourist. And it turned out to be a win-win situation for both.
October 17, 2017
I really liked the background for all of the cities he visited. I will have to read more of his books when I get the chance. For now, I appreciated learning a little more about the history of Italy in preparation for our trip later this year.
December 29, 2022
I travelled through Italy with this w
wonderful unique travel book. One of the best I've ever read.
wonderful unique travel book. One of the best I've ever read.
August 17, 2013
Каждый город — музей под открытым небом, в каждом соборе — фрески, картины и статуи работы великих мастеров, каждое блюдо местной кухни — настоящее произведение искусства, у каждого дня в году — собственный святой-покровитель, каждое название и едва ли не каждое слово звучит как музыка… Все это — Италия, la bella Italia, земля, подарившая миру Рим и Венецию, Флоренцию и Милан, Цезаря и Катона, Вергилия и Горация, Леонардо и Микеланджело, Челлини и Казанову, водопровод и бани, спагетти и пиццу — и многое, многое другое.
Повестовавание ведется автором от первого лица и заключается больше в его собственных ощущениях и впечатлениях. Много историй, связанных с разными известными итальянскими династиями, отстсуплений про их генеалогические деревья, все это перекликается с рассказом о людях-современниках автора, которые ему повстречались на пути, причем по большей степени о туристах.
Взяв книгу в руки, я приготовилась к увлекательному путешествию по Италии, путевым заметкам, по которым можно будет представить маршрут автора, главные и малоизвестные достопримичатльности итальянских городов, ближе познакомиться с историей, ну, и увидеть книжку, которая мало подвласна времени, и будет актуальна и сейчас. На самом деле книга не вполне оправдала мои ожидания, чем обусловлена оценка 3 из 5 - рассказ вдется сумбурно, не придерживаясь ни географической, ни хронолической последовательности. Очень часто ловишь себя на мысли, что сейчас это уже мало актуально (книга была написала в середине 20 века), в ней много уделяется внимания англоговорящим людям-туристам, хотя читая книжку об Италии, хочется читать только про коренных итальянцев.
Но в целом было интересно узнать про сыр горгонцолу, который теперь нужно обязательно попробовать ("Нет на свете такого сыра, который мог бы разделить трон с горгонцолой!"), про личную жизнь Муссолини, про Вернону и Шекспира:
Верона - город балконов, и да Порто, живший неподалеку, в Виченце, хорошо это знал. То, что он решил перенести действие своего рассказа в Верону, - местный штрих, которым Шекспир, в свою очередь, блестяще воспользовался. Один балкон в Вероне в живописном средневековом доме на виа Каппелло показывают туристам, заявляя, что это дом Джульетты. На стене дома приреплена симпатичная, но явно не историческая доска, которая утверждает то же самое.
и еще многие другие истории.
October 29, 2013
Despite the age, still a better guide for history lovers than regular travel guides. Renaissance fanatics like me will find enough minor mistakes but that's Ok, for the overall tone of the author is incredibly pleasant and very British. Also good for having a taste of the golden post-war Europe.
Minus one star only for pages devoted to Englishmen of 19th century in Italy and to saints, because I am not interested in 19th century and st. Francis has my deep contempt, not affection.
Minus one star only for pages devoted to Englishmen of 19th century in Italy and to saints, because I am not interested in 19th century and st. Francis has my deep contempt, not affection.
August 7, 2019
Ok,currently reading.bit hard to get into at first,but once got the tempo and details of writing, quite enjoy.halfway through alot of detail,history and stories.gota stay focused.
Ok,have finished awhile ago, well kind of,I leave off the last chapter. 🙄
Ok,have finished awhile ago, well kind of,I leave off the last chapter. 🙄
June 14, 2007
Stunningly creates what it was actually like to be in Italy. Talks about the history and stories of the land.
April 9, 2011
A great book to read before travelling to Italy, full of interesting snippets and fascinating to compare with what you see there now.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews