Italian hours

by Henry James

New York · Penguin Books · 1995

James's essays on Italy are remarkable for their humanity. Traveling extensively throughout the country, including Venice, Rome, and Florence, he presents a portrait of a beautiful but impoverished country and, while he appreciated the beauty of the art, the ancient architecture, and the landscape, he never was able to forget the dire situation of many Italians, a state that caused him to meditate on the morality of the traveler who goes there to gaze on them.