Horatio Nelson
Originally I started reading about Horatio Nelson because he was such a hero to the Regency Brits. He is spoken about in many books of the time, and he is even referenced in movies that I sigh over such as Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. (Russell Crowe.. Mmmmmm). If you look at the painting of the young nineteen year old Captain Nelson above, painted by John Rigaud, you will see the fortress that he stormed as a young man in South America.
What I found out is that he was really an interesting man. I am not a military history kind of girl, so I was almost grinding my teeth before I started reading it and I was even questioning my choice. The book by Tom Pocock, however, is a great read. I really enjoyed it. While there is some military information here, the book is about the man behind the uniform. There is no strategy included within, which may put some people off, but for me, this was perfect. And, as any good book has, Pocock included some information specifically for me. Did he know that I would be reading his book?
“It was not only the luxuries of the Palazzo Sessa
that were now open to Nelson but a strange and beautiful country of palaces and
panoramas. The Bourbons had built palazzi or pavilions wherever their pleasures
dictated, whether for entertaining, hunting or commanding a remarkable view of
green slopes and blue sea dominated by the dark presence of Vesuvius and the
volcanic cliffs and crags created by its eruptions. Most remarkable of these
was Caserta, but in imitation of Versailles, and there and wherever the royal
family might be, the Hamiltons would not be far way. Sometimes they stayed at
the rented villa near Caserta, where they could walk in the English Garden laid
for the Queen by the landscape gardener, John Graefer, who had been recommended
by Sir William.”[1]
“… he chose as his principal residence the much
smaller palace, which included the new Palazzina Cinese built in the Chinese
taste, in the Colli district, fashionable for noblemen’s summer villas, and
near his hunting-grounds. For the other refugees, the only available
accommodation was in such houses outside the town, which were empty in winter.
One of these, the Villa Bastioni near the Flora Reale gardens, was allocated to
the Hamiltons; its high-ceilinged rooms were designed for hot weather and it
had no fireplaces.”[2]
“Palermo: the mixture of palm trees, the flamboyant
palaces and, here and there, the architecture of the Moors with its suggestions
of the seraglio.”[3]
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment