‘It is not one of your iconic cities, instantly visible in the memory or the imagination. It offers no unforgettable landmark, no universally familiar melody, no unmistakable cuisine, hardly a single native name that everyone knows.’ Jan Morris, Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere
Greetings from Slightly Foxed. As the weather grows colder and brown leaves litter the ground here in Hoxton Square, we find ourselves thinking of all the far-flung places we could be transported to by the words of the great travel writers. One such writer is the late great Jan Morris.
In Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere Jan Morris paints a fascinating portrait of a city which ‘enjoyed its golden age in the nineteenth century . . . but this era of pomp and not a little pretension did not last’. Morris wrote of many much more recognizable cities but in Trieste, Ariane Bankes observes in Slightly Foxed Issue No. 58, ‘she conjures up such a rich experience of the city, past and present, that it enfolds you like a cloak, and propels you through streets and squares alive with ghosts and charged with layers of history.’
Please read on for an extract from Ariane’s piece along with a link to read her article in full on the Slightly Foxed website. We’ve included links to some of our favourite books by Jan Morris for worldwide excursions from the comfort of your own home.
Hattie, Jess, Charlotte, India & Isabel