Escaping a sirocco-stifled Naples, Gissing sails for Paola and travels through Calabria, then a poor and rarely visited region. At Cosenza he looks for the grave of Alaric beneath the river; at Taranto, Cotrone, Squillace and Reggio he searches for traces of the Greek colonies, while enduring fevers, bad inns, and the kindness and grievances of local people.
Gissing’s finest travel book, a melancholy, humane classic for anyone drawn to southern Italy. Download the free EPUB.