Esuli russi a Napoli e Capri tra XIX e XX secolo: Nikolaj Prachov, Nikolaj Firsov, Aleksej Zolotarev. Nuovi materiali

Abstract

In the present article some unpublished manuscripts preserved in Russian libraries and archives are presentedand examined: the cycle of “ocherki” Old Naples (1940), folkloristic sketches written by the painter Nikolai Prachov (1873-1950); Tales about Italy (1902), stories with a social background by the writer, journalist and translator Nikolai Firsov (1839-1917) and Twelve Novella of Capri (1913-1949), nostalgic novels about love and the “new life” of Russian exiles in Capri of the writer, historian and critic Aleksei Zolotarev (1879-1950). The analysis of these writings enriches the line of studies of the so-called “russkaja neapolitana”, widening the boundaries of the literary conventions of Naples and surroundings like “paradise vs hell”, created by writers, artists and travellers of Romanticism and Decadence.