TY - BOOK AU - Symonds,John Addington AU - Brown,Horatio Robert Forbes TI - Sketches and Studies in Italy and Greece, First Series AV - DFDG PY - 2005/// CY - Salt Lake City, UT PB - Project Gutenberg KW - Italy -- Description and travel KW - Greece -- Description and travel N1 - Release date is 2005-02-08; Produced by Ted Garvin, Leonard Johnson and the PG Online Distributed Proofreading Team; Original publication data not identified N2 - "Sketches and Studies in Italy and Greece, First Series" by John Addington Symonds is a collection of travel writings composed during the late 19th century. The work reflects the author’s experiences and observations while journeying through the culturally rich landscapes of Italy and Greece, exploring the aesthetic and spiritual connections humans can forge with nature and the historical significance of these regions. At the start of the collection, Symonds expresses a profound love for the Alps. He captures the transformative experience of traveling toward Switzerland, offering an evocative portrayal of the changing landscape from the monotonous French plains to the enchanting Swiss mountains. He muses on the historical disdain that classical cultures held toward mountainous regions, contrasting it with the contemporary appreciation for the beauty and freedom that the highlands provide. In this opening portion, Symonds dives into philosophical ponderings about the allure of nature, reflecting on how modern sensibilities perceive the mountains as symbols of freedom, individuality, and the divine—a tone that sets the stage for the overarching themes of appreciation for nature and cultural history that permeate the entire work. (This is an automatically generated summary.) UR - https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14972 ER -