Germany and Italy celebrate their cultural closeness, against the timeless backdrop of the Eternal City
There are places where Europe is not negotiated, but felt. Rome is one of them. And it is here that Germany and Italy have opened a new chapter in their cultural relationship – quietly, poetically, and with a firm eye on the future.
On the occasion of the German-Italian intergovernmental consultations, Wolfram Weimer, Germany’s Minister of State for Culture and the Media, met with Italy’s Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, to agree on two cultural initiatives that speak less in the language of politics than in that of imagination, travel, and intellectual exchange. Their shared conviction: culture remains one of Europe’s strongest connective forces.
To this end, a ‘pilgrimage route in the footsteps of Goethe’ is to be created in Italy, and in Strasbourg, the way is to be paved for Italian involvement in the television channel Arte.
Goethe’s Italy, Reimagined and Read Anew
At the heart of the agreement lies the revival of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s legendary Italienische Reise (Italian Journey). Almost 240 years after the poet set out across the Alps, his route through Italy is to be re-envisioned as a European cultural itinerary – not as an exercise in nostalgia, but as a contemporary invitation to rediscover Italy through art, literature, and lived experience.
Goethe’s Italian Journey between September 1786 and May 1788 – by Zello – Own workl licenced under CC BY-SA 3.0; link
With his travelogue, Goethe awakened a longing for Italy that continues to resonate today. Goethe’s journey took him over the Brenner Pass to Lake Garda – where he had an unexpected adventure when he was mistakenly arrested as a spy – onward to Verona, Venice, Florence, Rome, and Naples, and finally to Sicily, where antiquity, landscape, and Mediterranean life profoundly shaped his thinking. The planned cultural route will trace these stations and transform them into a narrative journey that brings together history, aesthetics, and the humanist spirit.
On October 31, 1786, Goethe arrived in Rome and wrote: “I have finally arrived in this capital of the world.” He would stay for four months, celebrating, writing, experiencing erotic adventures, and satisfying his longing for antiquity. During this time, Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, a close friend of Goethe, accompanied him. Together they produced the famous painting Goethe in the Campagna, which remains an iconic image of the poet to this day.
Video via Italianauts on YouTube
Whether on foot, by train, or by car, the route is designed to be experienced individually, appealing both to culturally curious travellers and to a young, international audience for whom Europe is above all a space of inspiration.
Between Digital Discovery and Dolce Vita
Goethe was prepared for many things, but not for one: the Italian way of life. Ease, optimism, sensuality – he found the words, and the Italians revered him for it. The initiative will bridge this heritage with modern technology: from autumn 2026, a digital interactive app will allow users to retrace Goethe’s journey virtually and on site. This will be complemented by an exhibition at the Casa di Goethe in Rome, exploring Goethe’s reception in Italian art and literature, accompanied by an international academic conference.
Casa di Goethe, once Tischbein‘s flat, today a museum on the Italian Journey in Via del Corso 18, Rome; by Tom86 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, link
Culture as a European Attitude
Seventy-five years after the resumption of diplomatic relations, the bond between Germany and Italy is sustained not only by politics but by shared cultural imagination. In a Europe facing profound challenges, culture is not an accessory, but a foundation – fostering understanding, cohesion, and continuity.
Or, as one might say in Italy: una questione di stile. Either way, it’s a gentle invitation to (re)discover Goethe – in English, Italian, or, of course, in the original German.
“At this place J. W. Goethe drew the castle on September 14, 1786”: Plaque in the Via Castello, Malcesine, where Goethe was drawing the castle; by H. Zell – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, link
PHOTO CREDITS
- Lead image Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein – Goethe in the Roman Campagna – Google Art Project – Public Domain
- All other images and video as credited
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