Hazlitt's Journey to Italy

In attempting to connect William Hazlitt’s life-writing to his experiences travelling through the Italian peninsula, I will begin by tracing the origins of his Notes on a Journey through France and Italy and the story of its publication. An outline of the route followed on his journey through Italy will be provided, with a focus on his descriptions of the places he passed through and the cities he visited. The key features that will be highlighted are his wonder at the natural and artistic beauties of the country and his disappointment at some of the faults he found with it, as well as his impressions of the Italian people and their habits. Finally, I will comment on the way in which Hazlitt’s Notes convey the idea of Italy as a whole, about forty years before its unification.