Posts about Books & Literature
High up on the Vomero Hill lays a great treasure of Naples, the Certosa di San Martino. This former monastery turned museum has impressive sweeping views over the Bay of Naples and lovely fruiting gardens to stroll within. Our photo of the day shows the skulls mounted on the balustrade of monk’s burial site located in the Chiostro Grande (Grand Cloister), a fine example of Neapolitan Baroque architecture. Want to learn more about life in Baroque Naples? Jeanne Chenault Porter’s Baroque Naples tackles this golden age of Naples from all angles, while Helen Hills’ Invisible City gives fascinating insight into the religious life of cloistered nuns during the 16th century. Both reads should whet your appetite until you are able to view the city on your next trip.
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February 20th, 2012 under Architecture, Books & Literature, Culture, Naples.
In this Olympic year London is commemorating one of its most famous inhabitants – and no, I don’t mean Charles Dickens. In July, to coincide with the Games, the British Museum is hosting a major exhibition, Shakespeare: Staging the World, looking at the life and times of England’s greatest dramatist; but before then the general celebration of all things Shakespearean kicks off with a play by Edward Bond at the Young Vic Theatre, near London’s Soutbank. Read more »
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February 10th, 2012 under Books & Literature, History, London, Special Events.
A few weeks ago I received in the post a package from Indagare. The package contained a set of precious maps put together by the Indagare team. Why are the maps so precious? Because they are packed with tips about restaurants to try, museums to visit, shops and all sorts of useful information. They come in a sleek black case, making them the perfect travel accessory. Intrigued by the idea, I decided to interview Melissa Biggs Bradley, founder of Indagare and brain behind the maps.
Context Travel: Melissa, you come from the publishing world where you were one of the Founding editors of Town &Country Travel Magazine. What made you move from this role to that of Founder of Indagare travel? Read more »
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November 27th, 2011 under Books & Literature, City Life, Culture, Food and Wine, New York, Shopping, Travel News, Uncategorized.
Until January 22 visitors to Florence have the opportunity to view a stunning exhibition at the Palazzo Strozzi recounting the history and development of the European banking system and its relation to the Medici family. Co-curator and author of the well received book Medici Money, Tim Parks gives us insight into what makes the Medici family unique and how he arrived at his special interest in their history. Read more »
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November 18th, 2011 under Art, Books & Literature, Culture, Florence, Special Events.
Docent Fiorella Squillante gives the case for Naples as we continue the search for Context City of Literature 2011. Stay tuned to the blog for details of how to vote for your choice of best city, and the prizes you can win…
“All of these beaches and promontories…islands and peninsulas…only now that all of this is present in my mind, the Odyssey for the first time has become for me a living word< .” This is what Goethe said during his stay in Naples, so we could start with Homer as our narrative of the literary origins of this city and its surroundings, but perhaps it is better to focus on and remember that Virgil—who Dante elects as his master—came to Naples, fell in love with it and stayed. It was here that he went to Siro and Philodemus’ school of philosophy to learn the Epicurean precepts. In the 1700s Epicurean writings came to light in the Villa of the Papyri which had been buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD. The villa was named of the Papyri after this discovery. Perhaps this is literature, preserved for centuries under the ashes of Vesuvius. The rediscovered Epicurean fragments from Herculaneum—which are kept in Naples—discuss an intense love, intent on pure sensual pleasure. These pleasures in the Bay of Naples seem to be the same centuries later during the Grand Tour when Goethe wrote: “Naples is a Paradise…and it is a strange experience for me to find myself with people who think of nothing else but enjoying themselves.” Read more »
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November 10th, 2011 under Books & Literature, Literary City Special, Naples.
Following the ‘Sense of Place’ posts from Danny Rhodes and James Benmore, we’ve asked some more Fiction Desk authors to tell us about the books that have inspired them through description of places both near and far…
Lynsey May on Wild Swans by Jung Chang
In my early teens, Wild Swans by Jung Chang was a revelation. Until then, my concept of the greater world was that while it might be worthy of a geography lesson or even interesting to look at on TV, it was also extremely far away, and therefore none of my concern.
But Reading Wild Swans I found myself sinking into a place I’d never before been entirely convinced existed. China past and present spread itself before me, and I knew then I’d discovered what it meant to be of a place, whether you wanted to be or not.
I’ve not made it to China yet, and the country it is now is not the country it was when the book was written, but I know that when I do make it, I’ll hear the whisper of Jung’s history in my ear. — Lynsey May Read more »
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November 4th, 2011 under Books & Literature, Uncategorized.
The search for the Context City of Literature—and our exploration of the connections between literature and travel in general—is just too big to fit into October. So we’ll be continuing with the theme into November. Without further ado, here’s Context’s Sarah Morgan with her arguments for why Rome should take the title of City of Literature 2011…
Rome, more than any other city, has since ancient times been a lure for writers and an inspiration for their work. It would be impossible to list all the writers who were influenced or who lived in Rome. In passing, it is enough to mention that there were great writers in ancient Roman times, the most notable being the poet Virgil. It is Rome that the most famous lyrical poet Francesco Petrarch, chose to be crowned poet laureate (1341) declining the invitations from Paris and Naples as he recognized the importance of the city in restoring the classical tradition of the poet laureate and the its idea of literary immortality. The great epic poet Torquato Tasso died in Rome in 1588 while waiting to be crowned (one can visit his tomb in the S. Onofrio church). Read more »
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November 3rd, 2011 under Books & Literature, Literary City Special, Rome, Uncategorized.
Docent Cedrik Verdure gives his views on why Paris should be named Context City of Literature 2011.
1. Paris is not a literary capital, it is the home of writers. Let me explain. It’s not only because I’ve met Pulitzer prizewinners like Norman Mailer and National Book Award finalists like Alan Ginsberg, or prix de Flore winners like Bruce Benderson. It’s not only because Faulkner went to Paris to meet James Joyce. It’s not because James Joyce came to Paris to write about Dublin. It’s for all of it. Paris is the writer’s home. Read more »
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October 28th, 2011 under Books & Literature, Literary City Special, Paris.
The search for Context’s City of Literature heads back over the Atlantic now, as docent Alex Goldfeld brings us the case for Boston.
The first Bostonians were not concerned as much with literature as with literacy. Massachusetts passed the country’s first laws requiring public education in the 1640s, and three of the schools they established, all over 365 years old, are educating children in the city of Boston today. In neighboring Cambridge, the first printing press in the English colonies was established in 1638, just two years after the creation of what is now the international grande dame of higher education: Harvard University. Ever focused on religion and the expansion and survival of their own way of life, the Puritans did not leave behind a rich body of literature, but rather the standard of an educated citizenry. Read more »
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October 27th, 2011 under Books & Literature, Boston, Literary City Special, Uncategorized.
Docent Francesca Frulla here gives us the arguments for Venice as Context City of Literature 2011…
There are several reasons for choosing Venice as Context’s “city of literature. Of course, many writers, poets and playwrights were born here, and tourists who raise their heads to marvel at the façades of the beautiful buildings scattered throughout every sestiere can spot the numerous marble plaques commemorating excellent Venetians of letters: Marco Polo, Goldoni, Casanova, Gozzi… Read more »
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October 26th, 2011 under Books & Literature, Literary City Special, Venice.
