L'orrore sublime. Il Vesuvio tra attrazione turistica e locus horridus

Southern Italy, particularly Campania, has long been associated with stereotypical descriptions such as "Earthly Paradise", "Arcadia" and "Eden", but it also has a dark and disturbing, not to say perturbing, side, with places which fall into the category of locus horridus, and are associated with the experience of "sublime horror". A long excursus is devoted to the genesis, in the British context, of the modern interpretation of notions such as "horror" and "the sublime", which come together in the oxymoronic concept of "sublime horror". In order to illustrate the itinerary, we will consider a number of paintings, travelogues and poems by Russian travellers who, following in the footsteps of those who preceded them, especially Goethe and Gregorovius, are confronted with a series of "horrible places": grandiose spectacles of untamed Nature. The essay focuses in particular on descriptions of Vesuvius, a volcano capable of evoking the emotion of "sublime horror", and perhaps the most emblematic locus horridus.