At the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries, many Russians visited the seaside resort of Nervi, near Genoa, Italy. Most were socialists, looking for support from Italian organizations and/or patients who suffered from tuberculosis and were in search of a milder climate. Indeed, the famous Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem (born Sholem Rabinovič) spent seven winters (1908-1914) on the Ligurian Riviera fighting a severe form of tuberculosis. Aleichem's presence in Nervi was commemorated in 2003 by a marble plaque on the ‘Passeggiata di Nervi’, a wonderful coastal promenade that a century ago was called the ‘Marina’. Various memoirs and letters, including the writer’s own epistles, offer interesting details about his life in Nervi. Aleichem celebrated there the 25th anniversary of his literary career while the rest of the Jewish and literary world held public readings and contributions aimed at helping him cover the high cost of living at this Italian resort. This article examines the writer’s sojourns in Nervi, the celebrations of his writing held there, and the paradoxical feelings of longing that he experienced on the lovely Mediterranean coast for his poor, cold, and Jewish Russia.
Russkij pisatel' chodit po Marine. Sholom-Alejchem v Nervi
SALMON, LAURA
2016-01-01
Abstract
At the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries, many Russians visited the seaside resort of Nervi, near Genoa, Italy. Most were socialists, looking for support from Italian organizations and/or patients who suffered from tuberculosis and were in search of a milder climate. Indeed, the famous Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem (born Sholem Rabinovič) spent seven winters (1908-1914) on the Ligurian Riviera fighting a severe form of tuberculosis. Aleichem's presence in Nervi was commemorated in 2003 by a marble plaque on the ‘Passeggiata di Nervi’, a wonderful coastal promenade that a century ago was called the ‘Marina’. Various memoirs and letters, including the writer’s own epistles, offer interesting details about his life in Nervi. Aleichem celebrated there the 25th anniversary of his literary career while the rest of the Jewish and literary world held public readings and contributions aimed at helping him cover the high cost of living at this Italian resort. This article examines the writer’s sojourns in Nervi, the celebrations of his writing held there, and the paradoxical feelings of longing that he experienced on the lovely Mediterranean coast for his poor, cold, and Jewish Russia.
I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
