The phenomenon of Italomania in the nineteenth century

Abstract

The tradition of Anglo-Italian literary and cultural relations goes back to the time of Chaucer and continues to the present day but there is one period in particular - we refer to the years following the Battle of Waterloo until about 1830 - in which the links between the two countries become extremely close and which is characterised by what has been called Italomania. Professor C.P. Brand in his well-known book - Italy and the English Romantics- analyses this phenomenon, while Franco Venturi has spoken of "quella straordinaria passione per l'Italia che sboccera, caduto ormai Napoleone, nel romanticismo britannico e durera, violenta e multiforme, per tutti gli anni venti e ancora negli anni trenta".