Archeopalestrina Percorso archeologico di Palestrina, l'antica Praeneste
The street is dedicated to the famous German novelist born in Lubecca in 1875 and author of masterpieces like Death in Venice and The Magic Mountain. During summer of 1896 he moved to Palestrina with his brother, Heinrich Mann, novelist himself too and strong opponent of the Nazi Regime, and famous for his book Professor Unrat which inspired the film entitled The Blue Angel. The guest-house which hosted the two brothers was destroyed by bombing in 1944.
As many european intellectuals used to do at the time, the Mann’s brothers, during their Grand Tour (a long educational trip across Europe starting and ending up in the same city) chosed Palestrina because of the recent extraordinary archaeological discoveries.
Drawings, relieves and reconstructions are the evidences of XVIII and XIX centuries artists’ and scholars’ interest on the sanctuary ruins, the nilotic mosaic and the antique statues collection.
The influence of Palestrina on the German novelist production can be detected in some excerpts of his masterpieces: in Doctor Faustus, the young Adrian makes a deal with the Devil during his stay in Palestrina; in The Magic Mountain one of Hans Gantorp’s dreams takes place in a scenario that strongly recalls Palestrina atmosphere during the end of 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.
