Amerikanische Blicke auf Italien und seine Kunst am Beispiel der Italienfahrten von H. W. Longfellow, J. F. Cooper, N. Hawthorne

Travelling to Italy was of crucial importance for many Americans in the 19th century. When they came to Italy, however, they did not simply visit the country but read it through the eyes of earlier travellers and poets who had already contributes to the aesthetization of the Italian experience. The poet and anthologist Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the novelist and travel writer James Fenimore Cooper and the novelist Nathanel Hawthorne exemplify different ways of engaging both with the reality of travelling in Italy as well as its poetic images. Intertextual relations shape the perception of Italy by American writers; and increasingly ambivalent attitudes emerge that lead to culture criticism and philosophic reflection.