A Traveller in Southern Italy

by H.V. Morton

The author discusses the topography and cultural traditions of Italy as he observed them on a trip through the five southern regions

Genres: Travel, Italy, Nonfiction, Rus, History, British Literature

420 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1969

About the author

Henry Canova Vollam (H.V.) Morton, FRSL, was a journalist and pioneering travel writer from Lancashire, England, best known for his prolific and popular books on Britain and the Holy Land. He first achieved fame in 1923 when, while working for the Daily Express, he scooped the official Times correspondent during the coverage of the opening of the Tomb of Tutankhamon by Howard Carter in Egypt.

In the late 1940s he moved to South Africa, settling near Cape Town in Somerset West and became a South African citizen.

Reviews

[Lyn Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have just re-read this with pleasure. Morton weaves past and present seamlessly, is intensely interested in (nearly) everything he sees and at this stage of his life was so widely read that his observations sit on a great base of knowledge from the classics onwards. He spoke Italian, so was able to talk to whoever he wanted without interpreters, except in some of the remote villages where dialects were far removed from modern Italian.
Morton clearly loves Italy, and mostly his gaze is affectionate, frequently slightly amused - non of Bryson's bouncy humour here.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Leaving Rome early one morning in May, I arrived at Tivoli before the baker's boy. Chairs were still piled on the tables of the cafe, and the room, littered with the evidence of last night's dinners--the unremoved bottle, the filled ash-tray--wore that raffish air which the freshness of early sunlight bestows upon such scenes."

[Marc Lamot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Handsome introduction to South Italy, full of fun anecdotes and historical background.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not Morton's greatest writing: there are many redundancies and frequent indulgent musings on how much things will change once tourism takes hold of the region.

However, Morton on an off day is still one of the best travel writers out there. This book is very useful for understanding the profound differences between northern and southern Italy, and a fascinating portrait of the Mezzogiorno when it was still relatively undiscovered by modern tourists.

[Bap · Rating 4 out of 5]

Morton is a delight. He scampers about southern Italy with a grasp of the history and a great curiousity. You will learn alot of the region by reading this book. He talks to the priests, the merchants, visits museums and stays on the trail of Norman adventurers and former, greek colonies, and english travel accounts that preceded him. You will definitely want to visit this region after reading this book.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

`Kind of a classic in modern travel writing but still works