Quotations and Literature Forum

Does anyone know which British poet said something to the effect that "paradise" would be "inhabited by devils" or had been....???

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Thanks so much!!!

Ah, you are trying to win this contest
http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/whereareyou/

This source does little to pin it down:
The southern part of [Italy/Sicily] has been always considered as a less developed area. This area, known as "Mezzogiorno", which was the destination of the "Grand Tour" for travelers and intellectuals, like Goethe, Byron, Stendhal, fascinated by this "paradise inhabited by devils” in the 18th Century.
~found in a paper on the Internet

This source says it is of German origin:

Italy is a paradise inhabited by devils.
~German saying
http://www.insults.net/html/world/italy.html

This source indicates it was a Frenchman:

A French traveler to Naples in the 1700s is quoted as referring to that city as “paradise inhabited by devils”, a moniker that came to be applied to all of southern Italy and its inhabitants. When we consider the numbers of “devils” who emigrated from that, the saying takes on global meaning.
http://members.tripod.com/~verdicchio/I ... rican.html

thanks ever so much
you are so educated.
Ever been on Jeopardy?

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Thanks so much!!!

I have no idea what that building is, do u, my buddy?

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Thanks so much!!!

drw1200 is referring to the link in my first reply on this thread, for the January 2003 contest question.

Well, I know what building it is and the city, and posted the answer; but then thought, why should I do this research just so someone else can maybe win some money?
I submitted my entry to the contest, and I'll post the answer when I find out the results of whether or not I won anything.
Here's a hint to get you started. The best clue that got me pointed in the right direction was that the city will be celebrating it's 800th birthday in 2006.
Good luck.

The city is Dresden, Germany.
The building is:
Model of the Synagogue of the Jewish Congregation of Dresden

Article about it
http://www.friendsofdresden.org/SYN-comp.htm
Dresden, the Saxon capital offers culture and art treasures of European rank in its famous castles and museums. It is also called the "Florence on the Elbe" because of its architectural splendor and elegance. The Semper Oper is one of the most important opera buildings in Europe. In 2006 Dresden will celebrate its 800th anniversary of founding.
http://www.germanembassyottawa.org/cae/int-city.html
http://www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/vista/9879/saxony.htm

The "dynamic monarch" is King August II,
Augustus the Strong
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/dres/dres9.html

"The problem for the opera house, the palaces and the galleries is that they are made of soft sandstone so real damage can be done," said Gottfried Hietzschuld, a pensioner, as he surveyed the swelling water of the Elbe from the Augustus bridge.
~quote taken from
Floodwaters threaten catastrophe in Dresden
By Toby Helm in Dresden
(Filed: 15/08/2002)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/08/15/wflud115.xml

I think the "luxurious baked clay" is actually a reference to porcelain.
http://www.dresden-porcelain.com/