In 2024, the Frankfurter Buchmesse was welcoming its Guest of Honour Italy. A country full of literature, art and culture. Two centuries ago, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, a great Frankfurter, embarked down new paths. In 1786 he left Weimar and set out on his great “Italian Journey”, which was published in 1816/17 as an extensive travel diary. This “Great Escape” was a turning point in the poet‘s life, during which Goethe found much more than he had initially sought.

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The concept bridges the Guest of Honour Italy and the epicenter of books Frankfurt, bringing Goethes historic escape into the present for everyone to experience.