Milan and Stendhal, A Double Portrait. Itinerary 3: Alessandro Manzoni

1821. Napoleon has died on Saint Helena. In Milan, the Brera Academy is preparing to exhibit a painting by what is perhaps the best-known of the Romantic painters. Meanwhile, in Piazzetta San Fedele, Stendhal meets a certain Don Lisander—but you might know him as Alessandro Manzoni.

Milan and Stendhal, A Double Portrait. Itinerary 2: Silvio Pellico

It’s still 1818, and along what is now known as Via Alessandro Manzoni, a writer walks at a brisk pace—someone destined to become a symbol of Italian patriotism. In his hands, he holds a magazine with pale blue pages: Il Conciliatore.

Milan and Stendhal, A Double Portrait. Itinerary 1: Metilde Viscontini Dembowski

1818. Stendhal walks with us toward the Duomo, through a Milan that has abruptly woken from the dream of Napoleon Bonaparte. With him is a courageous woman, closely linked to the city’s patriotic circles—someone for whom he feels a deepinfatuation: Metilde Viscontini Dembowski.