Spain, V. 1 (of 2)

Edmondo De Amicis, the beloved author of "Cuore," leaves his native Turin with a weight in his chest and arrives in Barcelona with hungry eyes. This 1895 travelogue records not merely what he sees but how a sensitive Italian soul absorbs an entire nation: the fierce afternoon light, the coffee houses thick with political argument, the ancient streets where monarchy and republic wrestle for Spain's future. De Amicis writes as a visitor who refuses to be superficial, lingering over meals with new friends, tracing the contours of landscape that feel like emotional states, parsing the customs of a people he admires and does not fully understand. His melancholy departure from Italy haunts the early pages, giving the journey the texture of an escape or a pilgrimage. What emerges is a Spain frozen in amber, an Europe on the verge of everything, and one writer's honest attempt to find himself in foreign places. For readers who crave the particular pleasure of watching a literate stranger fall in love with a country, this remains an irresistible companion.