The Idea of Italy

Th£Lldeaj3Íitaly Sarah manguso I call the idea "Italy" so as not to frighten it. It sweats gently from its forehead. It wants to trust me with its life. Come, Sardinia! Let me bathe in your little sea. Let me stand with one foot on you and one on Sicily. I am flying east. The closer Italy comes, the more joy I feel. The most mysterious part of Italy is Pompeii. The sign for its ruins is three dots, one on top of two. The country's face is written over with the names the ancients gave it. What they said, we believe. We don't know what else to believe. The idea of Italy is a sort of ancient blue. It makes me smile, sometimes, with its commedia dell'arte. Once I tried to break off part of it but that only made it more beautiful. I went to France and it was still there— The very idea of Italy! 76 ...