Journey to Italy

Between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Grand Tour helped shape Europe’s image of Italy. The FAI properties offer a valuable key to interpreting this legacy, tracing the shift from the Enlightenment itinerary to the Romantic journey, when the fascination with classical antiquity and the Renaissance was joined by a passion for evocative natural landscapes. Places such as Villa Gregoriana, where Hector Berlioz was captivated by the power of the waterfalls; San Gimignano; Villa del Balbianello on Lake Como; and the Castle of Masino near Turin tell the story of how travel through Italy evolved over time. The words and experiences of writers, artists, and musicians — from Goethe and Chateaubriand to Stendhal and Dumas — still inspire the narrative of the heritage preserved by FAI today.