A Sweet and Glorious Land : Revisiting the Ionian Sea
by John Keahey

"I eventually came across an edition of Gissing's work... At one moment, halfway through my reading of this classic, I turned to my wife and said that I wanted to visit Italy and follow in the footsteps Gissing made in 1897 during his third and final trip to Italy: from Naples where he boarded the coastal steamer south to Paola; and from there, in a horse—drawn carriage, through the Calabrian mountains to Cosenza. From Cosenza, he went by train to Taranto and, using a combination of trains and carriages, made it all the way to Reggio di Calabria. It was a journey that covered much of the foot of Italy, principally along the coastal instep of the Ionian Sea... I wanted to see, one hundred years after Gissing, how these ancient lands looked." — from A Sweet and Glorious Land

   In the winter of 1897—1898, Victorian writer George Gissing made a well—chronicled journey throughout southern Italy. The result was a book, By the Ionian Sea, in which he detailed the influence of ancient Greece on the peninsula and contrasted the glory of Greece and its magnificent cities to the southern Italy of the late 1800s. The book was published in 1901 and has since become a classic in travel literature.

   A hundred years later, award—winning newspaper journalist John Keahey sets off to retrace Gissing's footsteps. His goal is to compare and contrast the two Italys, seeing first—hand all the changes that have occurred over the past century. He explores the outdoor markets in Naples, journeys to the charming coastal town of Paola, takes a train ride out of the Calabrian mountain town of Cosenza and into the port city of Taranto, and makes his way down to Reggio at the toe of Italy's boot. Along the route, he visits modern—day Crotone, the Ionian coastal city that was famous in antiquity as the place where Pythagoras had his school, as well as where Hannibal, pursued for 15 years along the length of Italy by the Romans, embarked in shame for Carthage (now in modern—day Tunisia). Going beyond Gissing's journey, Keahey also makes an additional stop at Sibari near where the site of ancient Sybaris has been partially excavated.

    From train rides through the lush countryside to the crisp mountain air of Catanzaro, Keahey paints a beautiful and compelling picture of one of the lesser known parts of the country. Reminiscent of Under the Tuscan Sun, A Sweet and Glorious Land is not only a wonderful travelogue but also an intriguing story of southern Italy and its people.

Travels With John
   In 1897, Victorian writer George Gissing made a monthlong trek through the villages and ancient ruins of Southern Italy, a journey that produced By the Ionian Sea, a classic of travel literature. A century later, journalist John Keahey decided to follow in his footsteps.
    Keahey retraces Gissing's path in A Sweet and Glorious Land: Revisiting the Ionian Sea (St. Martin's Press; $23.95). For Keahey, an 11-year veteran of The Salt Lake Tribune, the trip evolved from a personal fascination with Italy that began a dozen years earlier.
    "What attracted me to his story was that he went to such unique places -- places people don't ordinarily go to," Keahey said in a recent interview. Instead of Rome, Florence or Venice, Gissing roamed the toe of Italy's boot-like peninsula, a rural region filled with traces of its former Greek and Norman conquerors.
    "A lot of people don't realize the influence of Greek culture on Southern Italy," Keahey said. "There are more Greek ruins in Southern Italy and Sicily than there are in Greece."
    Traveling by train, car, bus and on foot, Keahey at each step contrasts his experiences with those of Gissing. He interviews historians and archaeologists and chats with bus drivers and restaurant workers to gain a flavor of the region. Wherever he went, Keahey felt Gissing's presence at his side.
    "I was always talking to him. I'd say, 'George, I wish you could tell me how you felt here,' " said Keahey, whose next book explores Venice's struggle to combat its constant flooding. "It was such a joyful undertaking. The book just wrote itself."

- from The Salt Lake Tribune (8/6/00)