Beyond the Grand Tour Corinne or the “Staëlian Mediterranean”

The reception of Corinne at the start of the nineteenth century is a sign of a renewal of the image of Italy: in place of the demeaning stereotypes of the Grand Tour, de Staël’s novel is a stimulating reflection of Italy, and a positive appraisal. The history of this new country, in the midst of its “Risorgimento,” is presented in the novel, which values Southern characters and offers a promising future of Romantic melancholy and political energy, rather than the spectacle of ruined monuments.