Italian Backgrounds

In Short

This book is a refined collection of travel essays exploring Italy's lesser-known artistic, architectural, and geographic landscapes beyond standard guidebooks. Edith Wharton journeyed through remote Alpine posting-inns, mountain sanctuaries, Tuscan shrines, and quiet provincial cities, documenting the profound connections between local life, nature, and art. By shifting focus from famous museum pieces to the unregarded background—the rustic chapels, baroque theater architecture, and eighteenth-century Venetian subcultures—she established an enduring model for contemplative travel that values historical context, original discovery, and atmospheric depth over mechanical sight-seeing.

The Story

The narrative arc begins in the cold, hyper-regulated valleys of Switzerland, where the predictable neatness of Swiss inns creates an intense craving for the irregular, artistic soul of Italy. Crossing high Alpine passes like the Splügen, the journeys descend into Lombardy and the northern provinces, instantly shifting from sterile order to a landscape saturated with human history, wild foliage, and ancient stone architecture.

Moving into the high Pennine valleys and remote mountain folds, the search turns to hidden religious monuments. In obscure villages like Cerveno and mountain shrines like Varallo, San Giovanni, and Oropa, forgotten terracotta groups and frescoes depict sacred scenes within natural surroundings. These sacred hillsides reveal how early Christian hermits interacted with wilderness, transforming wild beasts into companions and leaving behind a tradition of rural piety embedded in the rocks and groves.

The journey continues southward and eastward into the heart of northern and central Italy. In Tuscany, a detour from Certaldo leads to the secluded chapels of San Vivaldo, housing delicate renaissance sculpture hidden from conventional tourists. Cities often dismissed as dull or devoid of obvious ornament, such as Parma and Milan, are unpacked to reveal hidden riches: Aleotti’s fragile wood-and-plaster Farnese theatre, the expansive villa gardens created in ancient limestone quarries, and brilliant indoor ceilings painted by Tiepolo and Luini that capture imprisoned sunlight.

The final phase shifts from physical terrain to historical depth, contrasting the conventional "foreground" of famous monuments with the rich "background" of Italian cultural history. This climax focuses on eighteenth-century Venice—a city frequently misunderstood as merely a fallen empire, but re-examined here through its vibrant genre painters like Longhi and Canaletto, its realistic comedies, and its preserved artifacts. The entire travel sequence concludes in a quiet room of the Museo Correr along the Grand Canal, where life-sized mannikins wearing the silk, lace, and buckskin of the sette cento stand fixed in place, mute witnesses to a lost world of pleasure and pre-Napoleonic elegance.

How It Unfolds

Leaving the Swiss border Tired of the rigid neatness of Swiss valleys, travelers take a diligence over the high mountain pass at sunrise. Descending into northern Italy, the landscape changes into terraced vineyards, rustic bell towers, and distant promises of painted altars.

Discovering mountain sanctuaries Climbing mule-paths to remote Alpine villages like Cerveno and Varallo, the route reveals chapel-lined stairways housing life-sized terracotta Passion figures. These sacred ways blend architectural design with the surrounding beech groves and mountain air.

Exploring Tuscan hill shrines Bypassing standard guidebook itineraries, a detour through Certaldo brings the travelers to San Vivaldo's hidden chapels. Inside, delicate, expressive terra-cotta sculptures of the Virgin and disciples demonstrate an unexpected depth of early devotional art.

Uncovering urban secrets In towns like Parma and Milan, plain street facades hide extraordinary interiors from careless tourists. Behind dull stone walls lie vast wooden baroque theaters, sunlit courtyard gardens, and brilliant ceiling frescoes painted by master artists.

Unlocking the Venetian background Moving past the famous Gothic and Renaissance monuments of Venice, attention turns to the vibrant eighteenth century. The era's playful domestic life lives on through realistic plays, detailed genre paintings, and static costumed figures in local museums.

The People

• Edith Wharton is the perceptive narrator and traveler who seeks genuine discovery beyond the rigid itineraries of standard guidebooks. She wants to experience Italy's hidden artistic heritage, looking past conventional "foreground" sights to find the deeper cultural context that shapes the land.
• The Hermits are the historical and legendary Christian anchorites who retreated into the mountain solitudes of the Pennine Alps and Umbrian hillsides. Seeking holiness away from crowded medieval towns, they formed gentle bonds with wild beasts and left a legacy of mountain sanctuaries.
• Gaudenzio Ferrari is the northern Italian painter and sculptor whose spirit animates the mountain chapels of Varallo and Saronno. His expressive frescoes and terra-cotta figures bring intense human emotion and devotional simplicity to remote pilgrimage routes.
• Pietro Longhi is the eighteenth-century Venetian genre painter who recorded the unpretentious daily existence of his contemporaries. His delicate canvases capture the naive, pleasure-loving spirit of patricians, servants, and street vendors without moral judgment.
• The Mannikins of the Museo Correr are a collection of life-sized costumed figures preserved in a gallery along the Grand Canal. Clad in the lace, silk coats, and buckskin of eighteenth-century Venice, they stand frozen in time as silent symbols of a world interrupted by Napoleon.

In Its Own Voice

"To the mind curious in contrasts--surely one of the chief pleasures of travel--there can be no better preparation for a descent into Italy than a sojourn among the upper Swiss valleys."

This observation marks the physical and mental departure point as the journey leaves Swiss order behind for the artistic richness of Italy.

"Italy, to her real lovers, is like a great illuminated book, with here and there a glorious full-page picture, and between these, page after page of delicately-pencilled margins, wherein every detail of her daily life may be traced."

This reflection defines the book's core philosophy of looking past famous monuments to appreciate the understated details of Italian life.

"There they stand, poor dolls of destiny, discarded playthings of the gods, in attitudes of puzzled wonder, as if arrested in their revels by the stroke of the dread Corsican magician..."

This description captures the costumed mannikins in Venice, symbolizing the abrupt end of the eighteenth-century Venetian world.

What It's Really About

Underneath its descriptions of travel, the book investigates how human imagination, history, and natural geography interweave to create a region's true identity. It argues against mechanical sight-seeing, contending that famous masterpieces become lifeless when stripped of their surrounding environment and local life. By examining forgotten mountain shrines, provincial towns, and minor artistic movements, the prose explores the continuity of human expression—how simple stone masons, regional painters, and anonymous builders shared the same instincts as legendary masters. Ultimately, the work asks readers to cultivate an observant, patient eye, showing that the true charm of travel lies in stepping off beaten paths to uncover the quiet, background details that bring history alive.

Why Read It Today

This volume appeals to thoughtful travelers, art lovers, and readers who appreciate expressive, polished travel literature. Reading it feels like walking through historic landscapes alongside an incredibly observant companion who notices architectural details, subtle shifts in vegetation, and hidden artistic treasures that others miss. The narrative offers a soothing counterweight to fast-paced modern tourism, celebrating the rewards of slow exploration, detours, and lingering in quiet places.

While rewarding, the text carries certain period difficulties. The prose relies on a sophisticated vocabulary, occasional un-translated Italian and French phrases, and detailed references to art historians, classical mythology, and regional architecture that may require extra attention from modern readers. Additionally, it reflects early twentieth-century upper-class travel habits, complete with motorcars, hired carriages, and an unapologetic dismissal of standardized tourist crowds. Yet, these historical qualities give the writing its distinct elegance. The book's vivid atmospheric descriptions, deep love for Italian art, and reminder to look beyond obvious surface beauty remain entirely captivating today.