Following in Hesse's footsteps: Hermann Hesse is the most widely read German language author in the world. His works have been translated into 60 languages, and more than 100 million copies have been sold. A walk into his life.
| Auteur | Heddema, Renske |
| Fonction | Legend |
Through the buildings of the American School in Montagnola, a steep path leads uphill between pink coloured Ticinese houses and elegant apartment buildings. Carefully designed floodlights illuminate a wall of loosely laid natural stones alongside the walking path. This is the Italian part of Switzerland, a place where modern design and architecture subtly blend with nature.
Collino d'Oro, the hill south of Lugano that was the home of Herman Hesse for 45 years seems to cast a spell on every visitor. The path continues between the golden hills and then the view widens; unveiling the Lake of Lugano, meandering between the mountains as far as reaches the eye.
The Monte San Salvatore at the opposite side displays stunning shades of green, yellow and red; houses and chinches on the mountain are reduced to small dots of grey and orange.
Tourism stop to admire the view; as the bell of a nearby church sprinkles a hesitant melody over the slope. Continuing the escalade above, the visitor then reaches the best part of Montagnola. Passing through a small porch, one enters an intimate little square with big chestnuts. In doing so, one steps into the world of Herman Hesse.
The delightful yellow house with turquoise window pains at the square is the place where Hesse spent the first 12 years of his stay in Ticino. In this house, the Casa Camuzzi, be wrote his most famous titles such as 'Siddhartha' (1922) and 'The Steppenwolf' (1927).
Right next to it is a small building with people speaking in Japanese, English and German, and skimming through Hesse's books and translations.
This ancient tower belonging to the Camuzzi complex has served as the Herman Hesse Museum since 1997. Thousands of visitors from all over the globe have visited the tiny museum since, paying tribute to the Nobel prize-winning author whose work has known several revivals since its initial publication in he first part of the 20th century.
A Spirit with High Intellect
Herman Hesse, the most translated German author ever, was one of the first 'Northerners' to divulge the charms of Ticino. His columns in German newspapers may even have served as the first tourist promotion for this part of Switzerland. Its subtropical climate and overwhelming nature turned out to be the proper biotope for the spiritual poet who was destined by his Pietistic parents to become a missionary, just as they were themselves.
Resisting the parental pressure, Hesse became a writer instead.
Expelled from the...
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