Riassunto
Riassunto di L’Alhambra
A chi è rivolto
For readers who love travel writing, old legends and gentle humor, and anyone who plans to visit Granada or loves Spanish history.
Che cos’è questo libro
The Alhambra is a book of sketches and tales by Washington Irving, the American writer who gave the world Rip Van Winkle. It was published in 1832. In the spring of 1829 Irving traveled from Seville to Granada, in southern Spain, and was allowed to live for some months in the empty rooms of the old Moorish palace on the hill above the city. The Alhambra had been built by the Muslim rulers of Granada, and by then it was half ruined and home to a few poor families and soldiers.
The book gives you two things woven together. One is a living portrait of the palace, its towers, courts and fountains, and of the people who still lived there. The other is a set of legends that Irving gathered from guides, neighbors and old chronicles, tales of astrologers, enchanted princesses, buried treasure and haunted towers. He tells them with humor and a warm eye for human weakness. First, let us follow him on the road to Granada.
In questo riassunto
- 1A traveler rides toward GranadaFree
- 2Life among the palace's poor tenants
- 3The halls, towers and gardens of the Moors
- 4Legends of astrologers, princesses and treasure
- 5What lies beneath the legends
- 6How Irving tells it and why it lasted
Punto chiave 1 di 6
A traveler rides toward Granada
The book begins on the road. Irving sets out from Seville with a companion, and the two ride across a hard, wild stretch of Andalusia on horseback, with a guide and an armed escort. The roads are poor, the inns are bare, and bandits are a real talk of the day. Irving treats all this lightly, and he enjoys the muleteers, the wayside songs and the strange bare mountains.
He is already thinking about the Moors. For nearly eight hundred years Muslim rulers held much of Spain, and Granada was the last of their kingdoms. It fell to the Spanish crown in 1492. Irving knows this story from the chronicles, and every ruined tower he passes adds to his sense that he is riding through a vanished world.
When he reaches Granada, he finds the city lively, with its fountains, its rivers and the snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada behind it. Above it rises the red fortress of the Alhambra. The name comes from an Arabic word that means the red one, after the color of its walls. Irving climbs the hill, passes through a great gate, and begins to see how much strangeness is held inside.
This opening matters because it sets his manner. He is not a scholar standing apart. He is a curious guest with a sense of humor.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Questions about L’Alhambra
What is The Alhambra by Washington Irving about?
It describes Irving's stay in the Alhambra palace in Granada, Spain, in 1829. It mixes travel sketches, history and local legends about Moorish kings, princesses, astrologers and hidden treasure.
Is The Alhambra a true story?
Partly. The travel sketches draw on Irving's real visit, published in 1832. The legends are folk tales and traditions, which he retells with his own touches, so they are not history.
Who is Mateo Ximenes in The Alhambra?
Mateo Ximenes is a local guide who calls himself the son of the Alhambra, because his family has lived in the palace for generations. He tells Irving much of what he learns about the place.
What does the word Alhambra mean?
It comes from an Arabic name usually understood as the red one, probably after the reddish color of its walls. It names the palace and fortress complex built by Granada's Muslim rulers.
Is The Alhambra hard to read?
No. The style is relaxed and humorous, and the book is made of short sketches and tales. You can read them in any order, and the phrasing is easy to follow.