For more than a year and a half, the great German poet Goethe traveled through the cities and villages of Italy. Such a long journey made an indelible impression on him and had a strong influence on all his subsequent work. “This little book,” wrote Goethe to Zelter, the only person with whom he switched to a fraternal “you” already in old age, “will receive a very special appearance precisely because its basis is formed by old papers generated by the moment. I try to change only the slightest thing in them: I remove minor random statements and annoying repetitions. It happens, however, that here and there, without prejudice to simple-minded naivety, I present an incident better and in more detail.” In our edition, “The Italian Journey” is presented only in extracts, as is done in German collected works that do not pretend to be academic completeness.