Grand Tour
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| - | The '''Grand Tour''' was a European travel itinerary that flourished from about [[1660]] until the arrival of [[mass]] rail transit in the [[1820s]]. It was popular amongst young British [[upper-class]] men and served as an educational [[rite of passage]] for the [[wealthy]]. Similar trips were made by the wealthy of other Northern European nations. Its primary value lay in the exposure both to the [[cultural artifact]]s of antiquity and the [[Renaissance]] and to the aristocratic and fashionable society of the [[Europe]]an continent. A grand tour could last from several months to several years. | + | The '''Grand Tour''' was a European travel itinerary that flourished from about [[1660]] until the arrival of [[mass]] [[rail]] transit in the [[1820s]]. It was popular amongst young British [[upper-class]] men and served as an educational [[rite of passage]] for the [[wealthy]]. Similar trips were made by the wealthy of other Northern European nations. Its primary value lay in the exposure both to the [[cultural artifact]]s of antiquity and the [[Renaissance]] and to the aristocratic and fashionable society of the [[Europe]]an continent. A grand tour could last from several months to several years. |
| == Overview == | == Overview == | ||
Revision as of 10:55, 21 November 2008
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The Grand Tour was a European travel itinerary that flourished from about 1660 until the arrival of mass rail transit in the 1820s. It was popular amongst young British upper-class men and served as an educational rite of passage for the wealthy. Similar trips were made by the wealthy of other Northern European nations. Its primary value lay in the exposure both to the cultural artifacts of antiquity and the Renaissance and to the aristocratic and fashionable society of the European continent. A grand tour could last from several months to several years.
Overview
The eighteenth century was the golden age of the Grand Tour of Europe for wealthy British noblemen. The modern equivalent of the Grand Tour is the phenomenon of the backpacker.
Most major British artists of the eighteenth century did the "Grand Tour", as did their great European contemporaries such as Claude Lorrain. Classical architecture, literature and art have always drawn visitors to Rome, Naples, Florence.
On their way to Italy, English travellers had to cross the Alps. Inspired by the scenery of fast flowing rivers and frightening mountain gorges they coined the notion of the sublime.
E. M. Forster's 1908 novel A Room with a View and its 1985 film adaptation is an example of the Grand Tour.
