Zwischen Bildungsreise und Klischee. Neapel in der deutschen Gegenwartskultur

Abstract

The article examines the cross-media popularity of Naples in German films, novels, travelogues, advertising brochures and comics. By using the new concept of the «cultural icon», it provides the following insights: if the German experiences of Naples and Italy are combined with an ideal of (self-)education, they form a coherent complex across all media in
which we can always find a reference to, and an update and a specific productive use of, Goethe’s journey to Italy. Understanding Goethe’s journey
to Italy as an iconic model thus provides a compact and precise approach
to the manifold popularity of Naples in contemporary German culture.