He fell in love with the "bel paese" and stayed here long. Favourite destinations of his travels were Genoa (described in "Memories of a tourist "), Parma, Bologna,  Florence, Naples and Rome – which he especially loved-.

He was also French Consul, first in Trieste and later in Civitavecchia.

He dedicated "Roman walks" to the capital city, a sort of diary where he described his days “charged” with art and history. He visited basilicas, palaces, churches, gardens, he admired monuments and sculptures and he conversed of them with solid authority and great enthusiasm.

In 1827 while he was travelling from Paris to Rome he was literally enchanted by the beauties of the Lago Maggiore and the Isole Borromee. The next stop was Parma where he was impressed by the Romanic Duomo with the Dome frescoed by Correggio and the gothic Baptistery.

In Parma, Stendhal set his masterpiece: "The Charterhouse of Parma", written in 1839.

Milan was also an important city in the writer’s life. He spent long periods there attending literary and political salons. He become a friend of Carlo Porta, Alessandro Manzoni, Vincenzo Monti  and  Silvio Pellico.

He loved classical music and opera, and he often went to the La Scala Theatre and one evening he had the honour of being introduced to Lord Byron.

Many of Stendhal’s works were dedicated to Italy, among others "History of painting in Italy", "On love",  "Memories of egotism", "The red and the black".

Stendhal