The infinite voice of Le Marche

Thanks to Giacomo Leopardi (1798, Recanati — 1837, Naples) Le Marche will always be connected with the spirit of humankind. The most important Italian poet after Dante Alighieri; the inventor of modern lyric poetry; the first European writer and thinker to explore the fragility of human life and the pursuit of happiness in a way that is familiar to us today: this is how influential his cultural contribution to the world was.

The greatness of his mind and soul is exemplified by The Infinite, a poem which is at once philosophy and art. Here is the translation by Jonathan Galassi.

This lonely hill was always dear to me,
and this hedgerow, which cuts off the view
of so much of the last horizon.
But sitting here and gazing, I can see
beyond, in my mind’s eye, unending spaces,
and superhuman silences, and depthless calm,
till what I feel
is almost fear. And when I hear
the wind stir in these branches, I begin
comparing that endless stillness with this noise:
and the eternal comes to mind,
and the dead seasons, and the present
living one, and how it sounds.
So my mind sinks in this immensity:
and foundering is sweet in such a sea.

The Leopardi family still lives in Recanati at the beautiful 18th century palace where the poet was born and spent most of his short life. On the first floor of the building there is the large private library (20,000 volumes) where Giacomo studied and worked. Perfectly preserved, it is open to the public every day.