Kilchberg near Zurich, [Middle of July], 1970
At the Graveside of Thomas Mann
The unassuming grave of Thomas Mann (1875-1955) stands on the cemetery of the Church of Kilchberg, surrounded by the rural tranquility of this small town overlooking the Lake of Zurich. Nothing would indicate that this is the last resting-place of the most significant novelist of the German language.
The widow of the author, Katja Mann, still lives, advanced in years, in the Villa Thomas Mann in Kilchberg. She also takes care of the literary estate of her husband. A Thomas Mann Research Library has been established in the Conrad Ferdinand Meyer Haus on the grounds of the Zurich Technical Institute.
Vevey on the Lake of Geneva, [Middle of July], 1970
Switzerland: General Travel Impressions
It is always a pleasure to travel through Switzerland: The magnificent landscape, the refined atmosphere, and the world-renowned hotels give a feeling of comfort. But much is also outdated. Here, the lifestyle of the 19th century is still being cultivated with meticulous care as hardly anywhere else in Europe. The hotel palaces, which once were a status symbol for the haute bourgeoisie, often stand empty. Only the facade has been left. Such a world-famous resort as Vevey has lost much of its former attraction. The landscape around the Lake of Geneva is of an overwhelming beauty, but the Lake suffers from environmental pollution. The famous Hotel Des Trois Couronnes, which once was a meeting place for the international high society, lives more now on its past glamour. Henry James had used it as a setting for the first part of Daisy Miller (1870).
In Switzerland, too, domestic tensions can no longer be denied. They are caused by the need to join in on modern life and to be part of the ongoing process of European integration. It is questionable if on the long run Switzerland will be able to maintain her distance from what is happening in the world.
Ravenna, [End of July], 1970
Two Times 800 Years: Dante and T.S. Eliot
When in 1320 Dante Alighieri, shortly before his death, sought refuge in the Franciscan Monastery of Ravenna, the Basilica of the Monastery, built in the 6th century, was already 800 years old. There also stands Dante’s Tomb erected in 1780.
St. Thomas à Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered in the Cathedral of Canterbury in 1170. This summer, on the 800th anniversary of his death, T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral (1935) is being performed in Italian translation as “Assassino nella Cattedrale” on the square of the Basilica. The performance of Eliot’s liturgical drama in verse against the venerable historical background of the Basilica gives such an impression of a unified whole that the tragic event, which had happened in the distant past of the medieval Canterbury, can be convincingly relived in the old cathedral town of Ravenna. The translation of the English verses into Italian makes no difference. In this context, the language has only an indirect effect. What counts is the spiritual experience that unites Dante and T.S. Eliot at this special place. So deep and one unified whole are the history and cultural sphere of Europe.