I have long been planning to tell the most respectable public about our walks through Gogol’s places in Rome. Already anniversary year was approaching - it would seem that he would be able to pick up a pen... that is, a mouse. Yes, somehow everyone couldn’t reach their arms and their legs couldn’t reach them. They were probably busy with more important things.

And in the summer, quite by chance, I saw Leonid Parfenov at Sheremetyevo airport, who was going to check in for a flight to Rome. “Well,” I thought, “if this is so, then, for sure, Gogol’s Roman addresses in the anniversary film will be explored in the most proper way. So there is no need for me to try to surprise the most respectable gentlemen with anything.” Having thus calmed my conscience, I checked in for the flight to London, where we successfully walked through the places of fame of Jack the Ripper and other attractions.

But “The Gogol Bird,” as Parfenov promised, went into wide television release, was watched by the public and became the second most popular topic for discussion on blogs. The film did not disappoint at all, and even Zemfira’s participation in it can be found to have some justification. In particular, Parfenov spoke very vividly and interestingly about Gogol’s Roman life. However (and this is quite understandable) he could not go to all the addresses in the film, showing us the most important thing - an apartment on Via Sistina , workshop of Alexander Ivanov and Antico Café Greco.

But in Rome there are many other addresses where a true admirer of Gogol’s talent can go. When we were in Rome three years ago, we did just that. Here is a map of the main area of ​​our walk.

Gogol first came to Rome on March 26, 1837. Together with Ivan Zolotarev, Gogol rented two rooms from the landlord Giovanni Masuccio at Via San Isidoro , 16. The same landlord owned several houses nearby, and many members of the Russian colony in Rome rented rooms from him, including, for example, the artist Orest Kiprensky. One of the artists probably advised Gogol to rent this house.

In a letter to his childhood friend Alexander Danilevsky, Gogol wrote about how to find him: “From Piazza di Spagna go up the stairs and take the right. There will be two streets to the right, you take the second one; this street will take you to Piazza Barberia. Here it is, Piazza Barberini and Fontana del Tritone in the center. (Sorry, the photos are a little oversharpened - hence the touches. If you like the photo, click and open it in a separate window, it will look much better!).

It would be logical for us to start our walk here. We'll see the Spanish Steps a little later.

“There is one street with a boulevard leading onto this square. You will go up this street until you come across Isidore himself, who closes it, then turn left.”

Since the time of Gogol Via San Isidoro became shorter. Its part - the “street with a boulevard” - was included in the newly laid Via Veneto . The same one that became one of the symbols of the “dolce life” of the 1960s - thanks to the film of the same name by Federico Fellini (yes, the shot from the film is not Via Veneto at all, but the Trevi Fountain... but the atmosphere is conveyed?).

Now most Via San Isidoro is a steep staircase that rises to the monastery. It’s very convenient - you can sit down and check the map again.

And here is the intersection Via di San Isidoro with Via degli Artisti (Khudozhnikov Street). Gogol's house is on the right (marked with number 1 on the map).

The house was rebuilt several times and now there is no gate facing the street with the inscription “ Apartment meubl é" (Gogol mentioned this inscription). But it is quite possible that Gogol entered his happiest Roman house through a gate like this - like in house 17. Actually, 16 and 17 are the same house, it’s just that its different entrances had different numbers.

Via degli Artisti you can go down to Via Francesco Crispi, and along it to Via Sistina . On the corner, let's pay attention to this house (number 7 on the map).

Gogol often visited here - the engraver F.I. lived on the second floor. Jordan, the unofficial "elder" of Russian artists in Rome. (And in 1874, the famous philologist Fyodor Buslaev gave lessons to the children of Count Stroganov here).

Let's turn right along Via Sistina - here is the house (number 2) in which Gogol lived the longest (from 1837 to 1842).

Parfenov spoke about it in great detail, even mentioned that this street used to be called Via Felice . It's almost like that. In fact, before the renaming it wasStrada Felice . This is an important point. Via Felice - the street of happiness. Strada Felice - rather, “the road of happiness.” Moreover, the word “ strada ” and in the meaning of “path”, “rut”, “path”, including in expressions like “life path”. " La Strada " - the name of Fellini's film, where we're talking about and about the road in the literal sense, of course, but also about the road as a symbol of life. I think that for Gogol these shades were understandable and made him look into the future with optimism and joy.

There is a memorial plaque on the house - if you didn’t have time to see it in the film, you can study it in detail.

Along Via Sistina we go to the Trinita dei Monti church (Trinity on the Mountain) and go down the famous Spanish Steps to the Spanish Square. Gogol walked this staircase several times. Surely, with his love for Roman water, he stopped to refresh himself at the fountain Barcaccia ("Boat").

To drink water, you can collect it in a container. Gogol probably used a jug.

Once we get to the square, we’ll stop for a while. All of Gogol’s places of residence gravitated towards this area. And this is no coincidence. Piazza di Spagna has always been a center of attraction for temporary and permanent emigrants of all nationalities. Let's look at the square itself - the French and Spanish embassies were located here, and the trace of Britain is revealed through the Keats and Shelley Museum and the tea room Babington "s. Walter Scott and Stendhal, Ingres and Jean-Louis David lived on the neighboring streets, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche and many others stayed. Both Russian “colonists” and travelers preferred to live or stay in this cosmopolitan area.

Without turning anywhere, we cross the square and walk along Via Condotti . It contains the famous Antico Café Greco (5), where Gogol loved to be both alone and in company.

Parfenov did not mention another famous gastronomic Mecca of that time - the restaurant Lepre . “At Zaitsev’s,” the Russian emigrants called it, because Lepre and means "hare" in Italian. This restaurant appears in many memoirs of Gogol's contemporaries and acquaintances. Alexandra Rosset tried to dissuade Gogol from preparing pasta according to her recipe right at her home - “it only takes Lepre five minutes” (meaning, it’s faster to order at a tavern than to suffer here).

Gogol repeatedly took Annenkov to this trattoria, as the scribe said: Dead souls" wrote: ".. at long tables, walking along dirty floor and simply sitting on the benches, a diverse crowd flocks to the dinner hour: artists, foreigners, abbots, chitadines, farmers, principes, mingling in one common dialect and consuming the same dishes, which, from the long skill of the cooks, are actually prepared faultlessly.”

AND it is known that the Lepre restaurant was located at Via Condotti , 11. We are looking for this house - there has been no restaurant in it for a long time, some kind of financial institution. Barrier in front of the arch. With a businesslike look, we walk into the courtyard, as if not noticing the questioning face of the security guard. And - oh the miracle of recognition! On the wall we see the preserved coat of arms of the restaurant owner. Here it is, the bunny - in the lower half.

While the guard, gesticulating threateningly, hurries towards us, we manage to take a couple of shots and with trained, stupid smiles (“What, you can’t come here? Oh. We didn’t even guess... scusiamo! ") we go out into the street.

From Via Condotti we turn onto Via Mario de Fiori. Around the corner, on Via della Croce , 81, Gogol settled in October 1845 and lived until May 1846. This is Gogol's last Roman address (4).

Examining the tattered green panel, bronze handle and icon of the Madonna above the opening, we notice that they forgot to slam the door - a rare case even for careless Italians.

With bated breath we get inside. There are no guards, no one stops us from going up the stairs. She probably looked the same in Gogol’s time.

It is unlikely that the appearance of the courtyard has changed significantly.

Typically Italian picture - on landing someone just left a piece of bas-relief.

It is known that Gogol's apartment was on the fourth floor. There's only one door here. A certain Diana Rocky lives behind it today.

Going outside, you can sit down in this cafe and drink a cup of coffee there, where, it is possible, Nikolai Vasilyevich also liked to do this. The prices here won't ruin you - it's not Café Greco.

Having refreshed yourself, you can Via della Croce exit onto Via del Babuino and walk along it to Piazza del Popolo . A couple of blocks, turning right, you can walk along the parallel road Via Margutta . There are, however, no Gogol addresses on it. But Gregory Peck’s character from Roman Holiday lived on it. And it’s simple - it’s a very pleasant street with fountains, courtyards and osterias.

Returning to Via del Babuino, we exit at Piazza del Popolo . On the corner stands the luxurious Rossiya Hotel (3).

Since the end of the 19th century centuries, it was chosen as a place to live by retired royalty, such as Ludwig I Bavarian Boris of Bulgaria, Gustav of Sweden, etc. And in the first half of the century, ... well, yes, Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol stayed there! He came to Rome in once again October 4, 1842. Together with Nikolai Yazykov, they check into the Rossiya Hotel. Why is not entirely clear, since after a few days Gogol returns to the same house on Strada Felice . Perhaps there was no suitable room there right away?

Security at the hotel is no match for the phlegmatic Cerberus bankers. Get inside and check out the bar Stravinckij we don't try and go straight to Piazza del Popolo . For many centuries, all travelers entered Rome through the gate at the opposite end of the square. Returns through them and young prince from Gogol's story "Rome":

“And now, finally, Ponte Molle , the city gates, and then the beauty of the squares hugged him Piazza del Popolo, looked at Monte Pincio with terraces, stairs, statues and people walking on the tops. God! how his heart began to beat! Verturn rushed along the Corso street, where he once walked with the abbot, innocent, simple-minded ... "

From the square you can go up to the right, to Monte Pincio and finish the walk at Villa Borghese, where Nikolai Vasilyevich visited more than once.

Where has he been? We walked around the main addresses of the writer, but perhaps almost any place in Rome can be safely “Gogolian”. For friends who came to Rome, he became the best guide to the city and its surroundings. “He bragged about Rome to us as if it was his discovery,” recalled A. Smirnova-Rosset.

Let us remember, therefore, only two more places associated with Gogol - and with another extraordinary woman. If you pass by the Trevi Fountain (here it is, at the very bottom of the map, marked with the number 6), then remember that in Palazzo Poli Gogol read " Dead Souls» Zinaida Volkonskaya and her guests. A Palazzo Poli - this is, as it were, the “backdrop” of the Trevi Fountain.

Gogol also visited Z. Volkonskaya’s villa. It is not marked on the map, as it is located at the other end of the city, not far from the Lateran Cathedral and Via Appia Nuova . After Volkonskaya, the villa changed hands more than once, but retained its name - Villa Wolkonsky . The family of the British ambassador is now walking along the alleys where Gogol and Zhukovsky used to walk - this is his personal residence (the photograph was taken with a hidden camera, so the quality is not so good).

We don’t try to break past the armed guard - we politely push our journalist’s ID through the bars. But the sentry resolutely... that is, he decisively sends us to the press office - if you want to visit the villa, write an application there a couple of weeks in advance. Alas, our walk should have ended much earlier. But we do not lose hope of continuing it someday...

Information.

Start of the walk: Piazza Barberini.

End of the walk: Piazza del Popolo.

Duration: 2.5 hours.

Hero of the Walk: Nikolai Gogol.

Literature:

1. Zolotussky I.In the footsteps of Gogol. M., 1988.
2. Kara-Murza A.Famous Russians about Rome. M., 2001.
3. Rome: Guide. M.: Afisha, 2001.

Russians have always loved Italy. Our admiration for this country is nothing new. Gorky, Lenin, emperors, aristocrats and a whole galaxy of truly great Russian artists visited here.
Attracted bel paese and writers. And one of her most enchanted hostages turned out to be none other than Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, whose quotes and love for the Apennines I will demonstrate today.

It seems to me that a prelude to this topic is not needed: we all know what Gogol is. And his unbridled passion and longing for Italy are easy to understand from his statements and letters. The soul of this man belonged entirely to this fertile land, in which he had no soul...

1 . Italy is a luxurious country! She is all paradise, all full of joy...

2 . If you knew with what joy I left Switzerland and flew to my darling, my beautiful Italy. She's mine! No one in the world can take it away from me! I was born here. Russia, St. Petersburg, snow, scoundrels, a department, a department, a theater - I dreamed of all this... As if with a purpose, the almighty hand of Providence threw me under the sparkling sky of Italy, so that I would forget about the mountain, about the people, about everything and immerse myself in its luxurious beauty. She replaced everything for me. I'm happy!

3 . You fall in love with Rome very slowly, little by little - and for the rest of your life. In short, all of Europe is for watching, and Italy is for living. This is what all those who stayed to live here say.

4 . What a land Italy is! There is no way you can imagine it. Oh, if you would only look at this blinding sky, all drowning in radiance! Everything is beautiful under this sky; every ruin is a painting; the person has some kind of sparkling coloring; a structure, a tree, a work of nature, a work of art - everything seems to breathe and speak under this sky. When everything changes for you, when you no longer have anything left that would tie you to any corner of the world, come to Italy.

5 . I traveled once between the towns of Giansano and Albano, in the month of July. In the middle of the road, on a hillock, there is a miserable tavern with a billiards table in the main room, where balls are always rattling and conversation can be heard in different languages... At that time I was writing the first volume of Dead Souls, and this notebook never left me. I don’t know why, exactly at that moment when I entered this tavern, I wanted to write. I ordered to be given a table, sat down in a corner, took out my briefcase and, amid the thunder of rolling balls, with incredible noise, the running of the servants, in the smoke, in the stuffy atmosphere, I fell into an amazing sleep and wrote an entire chapter without leaving the spot.

6 . I’m sitting without money... For a room, that is, an old hall with paintings and statues, I pay thirty francs a month, and that’s just one thing that’s expensive. Nothing else matters. If I drink one glass of chocolate in the morning, I pay a little more than four sous, with bread and everything. The dishes at lunch are very good and fresh, and some cost 4 sous, others 6. I no longer eat ice cream, as it costs 4; and sometimes at 8. But the ice cream is like you’ve never even dreamed of... Now I’ve become such a miser that if I pass on an extra tale (almost a sou), I feel sorry for the whole day

7 . Come someday, even at sunset, to Rome, to my grave, if I am no longer alive. God, what a land! what a land of wonders! and how fresh it is for the soul!

In 2002, a sculpture of Gogol by Zurab Tsereteli joined the galaxy of great poets in the Roman “Garden of Poets”, where the monument to A.S. has been located since 2000. Pushkin. How Gogol’s fate is connected with the city on seven hills, how Italians treat our mysterious writer and his incarnation by Zurab Tsereteli - this will be the story. The opening of the monument in Rome in December 2002 ended the year of the 150th anniversary of Gogol's death, celebrated in Russia and Italy.

This is what Gogol says about Italy: “Here is my opinion! Whoever has been to Italy, say “forgive” to other lands. Whoever was in heaven will not want to come to earth. In a word, Europe in comparison with Italy is the same as a cloudy day in comparison with a sunny day!”

Many thanks to Mr. Tsereteli for the monument in the truly academic style!!! those who are not able to make a classic monument are looking for new means...And how the people adore the monument to Gogol on Gogol Boulevard in Moscow!!!
14.03.06 , [email protected], evdokia

The excerpt “Rome” first saw the light of day thanks to publication in the magazine “Moskvityanin”. Readers became acquainted with this work in 1842. The story “Rome” is an excerpt from the novel “Annunziata”, which Gogol wrote in 1838-1839. However, the work was never completed by the writer.

In the passage “Rome,” Gogol reflected the impressions he received while visiting Italy. There are works and reflections of the author about the fate of this country. Let's get acquainted with a brief summary of Gogol's story "Rome".

Meet the main character

What did Nikolai Gogol tell us about in his story “Rome”? The narrator informed the reader about the feelings of the twenty-five-year-old prince. This heir to one of the noble families I was captivated by the beauty of a simple girl named Annunziata. But precisely because the reader needs to know literally everything, the author takes a short excursion into the past and introduces us to life young man.

The protagonist's childhood

The future prince grew up in Rome. Teachers and tutors were involved in his upbringing. At the same time, they adhered to the customs of the Roman nobles. An abbot was assigned to the future heir of the family. He was considered an uncle to him. The abbot was not a very educated man. That is why it is not surprising that the growing prince did not know very much.

Education

Most likely, the young man was destined to remain ignorant. However, his father old prince, suddenly decided to change the method of education. He considered it necessary to give his son a prestigious European education, sending him to a university located in the northern part of Italy, in the city of Lucca.

The young man stayed within the walls of this educational institution for six years. After that, he realized that France was attracting him. After all, its influence was well felt throughout Upper Italy.

Trip to France

From very summary“Rome” by Gogol, we find out how events developed further. The young man dreams of seeing France. However, he knows that his father, well known for his despotism, will never allow him to go to this country. Nevertheless, fate favors him. Quite unexpectedly for himself, the young aristocrat receives a letter from the old prince, in which he ordered his son to go to Paris and continue his studies there. A young man goes to the city of his dreams. And from the very first days, Paris literally swallowed the young man into the whirlpool of its seething life. But four years have passed. The young prince began to consider his stay in Paris as something unbearable. He was tired of the gloss of this city, realizing that behind the external shine lies emptiness. The prince begins to miss his native Italy.

Return to homeland

Suddenly, the young man's life becomes much more complicated. The fact is that his father stopped sending him money. The prince is forced to go into debt, feeling more and more lonely every day. The young man sends a letter to his father, in which he asks to return him to Rome. But soon a banker comes to the young man and hands him a letter from his uncle. From this message, the prince learns that his father has died, and he must return to Rome in order to dispose of the estate, inheritance and title at his own discretion.

Upon returning home, the young man sees that his family’s affairs are in severe decline. They are aggravated by litigation, as well as large number servants who need to be paid money. The prince is trying to improve the shaky family affairs. That is why he begins to live quite modestly. But at the same time he finds his greatest source of pleasure. For the young prince it becomes Italy itself with its amazing story. The young man sees monumentality and grandeur in literally everything in his country. He is amazed by the traces of the greatness of the city of Rome. The prince strives to learn as much as possible about his people, for which he begins to study history.

Carnival

The prince pays attention and compares them with Roman buildings. Like them, among women he sees either beauties or, on the contrary, ugly girls and ladies. He believes that there are simply no “pretty” people.

The prince enjoys women as if they were verses in a wonderful poem. However, soon another one is added to his hobbies. This is the feeling that declared war on everyone else, and its name is passion.

The carnival procession begins in Rome. The prince does not want to take part in it. However, he has to make his way through the crowd of townspeople. In her he saw Annuncieta. Fascinated by the beauty, as well as the calm splendor emanating from it, the prince immediately falls in love with the girl. Annuncieta noticed the stranger's gaze. However, she became embarrassed and immediately hid her eyes.

Looking for a beauty

The pranksters in the crowd sprinkle flour on the prince. A young man, white from head to toe, rushes home. Having changed his clothes, he tries again to find the girl he likes in the crowd. And only briefly does he manage to notice how the beauty gets into the cart to leave. The young man, surrounded by a crowd, realizes that keeping up with Annuncieta is a hopeless task. That is why he goes to the good-natured and efficient Peppa. This man comes from a wealthy merchant's house. However, Peppe went broke because his passion was the lottery, in which he unsuccessfully invested all his money. Now he has to earn a living by doing odd jobs, for which he carries out various assignments.

The young prince takes Peppe away from the crowd in order to have an important conversation with him. He wants this man to find a beautiful stranger for him. However, the young man immediately forgets about everything. He sees Rome, which is illuminated by the rays of the setting sun. The city is simply magnificent.

Unfortunately, Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol did not have time to finish his story “Rome”. That is why the reader never found out how the story of those young people he introduced us to in his work ended.

Idea of ​​the plan

Gogol's story "Rome" is not an eventful story. It can be called philosophical. The work contrasts two cities with each other - Rome and Paris. The first of them represents the lull of art and thought. It adjusts a person to balance, pacifying melancholy and rebellion in his soul. Paris, on the contrary, is a city of movement, political passions and circulation. For the prince, Paris and Rome are the world. Gogol shows the first of these cities as the present, and the second as the past. Paris for a young man is the brightness of a minute. Rome for him is the constancy of eternity, its incorruptibility and deep beauty.

Analyzing Gogol’s “Rome”, one can understand that the author showed these two cities not just with symbols. He presented them as living examples of two civilizations.

The gaze of the main character, which is analogous to the author's, is aimed at the history and art, spirituality and beauty of Rome. This instills in him the idea of ​​purpose, of inheritance and of continuity that comes from the distant past. The brightness of the minute fades before the true breath of eternity, which has no time calculation.

Some reviews of Nikolai Gogol’s “Rome” compare this work of the author with his “Notes of a Madman.” Already when creating them, the writer allowed his hero to play with the calendar, joke with time and, taking the story, arrange a farce out of it in the form of somersaults, walking upside down, etc. In the diary of a madman, time also seems to have gone mad. It jumps, breaking with the usual ideas about a series of days. In “Notes of a Madman,” Gogol laughed at the pride of the “present moment.” Gogol's hero Poprishchin does not understand the stakes of the minute. For him, this is nothing more than an empty phrase. He considers the human soul to be the true Chronos, which, unlike time, is infinite.

Likewise, in his notes from Rome, Gogol overturned the existing calendar. He dated everything not to the 19th century, but used a deeper time. For example, when N.V. Gogol made any notes in Rome, he signed them something like this:

« Mts April, year 2588 from the foundation of the city."

By this he wanted to extend the present day as best he could, extending the real minute to the entire length of historical unlimitedness.

Travel to Italy

Researchers have established that Gogol created his story “Rome” as a direct reflection of his life abroad. In it, he described the philosophical and historical thoughts that were caused by this journey.

Nikolai Vasilyevich spent several months at the end of 1836 and at the beginning of 1837 in Paris. That social and political life, which took place in what was then France. In March 1837, Gogol left for Rome. Here in Italy, with short breaks, he lived until 1841, working on Dead Souls.

Gogol wholeheartedly fell in love with the “eternal city” of Rome with its monuments of art and history. This was confirmed by numerous letters to acquaintances and friends, in which the writer spoke about his interest not only in the history of Italy, but also in everything modern that existed in it.

Nikolai Vasilyevich most likely came up with the idea of ​​documenting his foreign impressions already in 1837. This is confirmed by many of Gogol’s quotes about Rome. For example, in the writer’s letter to P.A. Poletnev was given judgments that were close to the idea of ​​the future story:

“Everything is beautiful under this sky; every ruin is a painting; the person has some kind of sparkling coloring; a structure, a tree, a work of nature, a work of art - everything seems to breathe and speak under this sky... Before Rome, all other cities seem to be brilliant dramas, in which the action takes place noisily and quickly in the eyes of the viewer.”

In the same message, Gogol promised that his friends would definitely see his notes.

“in which, perhaps, the true impressions of my soul were reflected.”

A year and a half later, the writer sent a message to A.S. Danilevsky, which contained sketches of notes that anticipated the “Rome” plan. So, Gogol said:

“You have already seen and heard a lot - bustling Paris and carnival Italy. Really, there’s a lot of things, and the Russian man is in the middle.”

In this quote, it is enough to make only one change to see the plot of the story. That is, remove the “Russian man” and insert instead the “Italian prince”.