Das Bild Italiens in den Schriften von Fanny Hensel, geb. Mendelssohn

Fanny Hensel (1805–1847), the sister of the famous composer and pianist Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809–1847), received the same musical education as her brother, was also an excellent pianist and wrote music throughout her life. The social conventions of the time, which saw women principally in their role as wife and mother, prevented her from developing her talent as a musician in public and only a few of her compositions were published while she was still alive.;Fanny Hensel was also a talented and indefatigable writer of letters and diaries, which were already published and appreciated before the critics started some decades ago to take an interest in her musical composition and to rediscover it.;The letters and diaries she wrote during a one year journey to Italy in 1839/40 are evidence of Fanny Hensel's skill as a travel writer. The image of Italy she describes reflects her personality and way of being, her prejudices and convictions about the country, the influences of other travellers' experiences in Italy, and it is also affected by the fact that in Rome she lived the happiest time of her life. In Italy she discovered other ways of life; for the first time she felt really appreciated in her role as an artist and she experienced true joy and happiness. The image of Italy she preserved in her memory is therefore that of a Paradise on earth.