Goethe had an adventure in Italy 1786-1788
An interesting fact about Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is that Goethe had an adventure in Italy from 1786-1788 that sparked his passion for art. The development of Goethe's aesthetic and philosophical ideas was greatly influenced by his travels to Sicily and the Italian peninsula between 1786 and 1788. Goethe was mostly motivated to make the trip by his father's example, who had previously made a voyage of a similar nature. But more importantly, his fascination with the classical art of ancient Greece and Rome was sparked by Johann Joachim Winckelmann's work. As a result, Goethe's voyage contains elements of a pilgrimage.
The aspiring poet and writer started to understand his art itself as he followed in his father's footsteps. Goethe made friends with artists Angelica Kauffman and Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein while traveling, as well as renowned individuals like Lady Hamilton and Alessandro Cagliostro.
"Sicily is the focal point of everything," Goethe wrote after visiting Sicily. The young man first encountered orthodox Greek architecture in southern Italy, where he was astounded by its understated yet profound shapes and forms. Goethe visited the commercial port of Venice in the second year of his Italian adventure, according to historians and biographers, but there is no written record of this journey.
