Behind the story: Venice, Apennines, and Tuscany from The Mysteries of Udolpho

After the beautiful scenery of France, our story travels to Venice, Italy.  Ah yes, that beautiful city filled with wide eyed young people, mysterious lovers, financially ruined or debt ridden aristocracy, and lots of liscentious behavior.  Just imagine being young Emily St Aubert as she entered Venice....

 Sad because she had to leave her lover, meanwhile she is surrounded by a city filled with love and clandestine meetings.

After a staying for a few weeks, like thieves in the night, Signor Montoni (our villain) packs up his people in the early morning and flees Venice for his castle in the mountains, Udolpho.  I believe it is in the Apennine mountain range, which runs down the middle of Italy.  I'm a bit fuzzy about the exact location.

Udolpho was an ancient castle, situated in the mountains, surrounded by dense forests and mountain cliffs.  I tried to find a suitable picture,  but in my mind Udolpho is dark, cold, and dank, and run down as well.  It's falling apart in places.  Unfortunately, this photo below was the best I could do, so picture dark and stormy like.


At some point, our heroine, Emily, will escape Udolpho and make her way back to France via Tuscany.  Ah, I can feel the warmth on my skin already, just like Emily.

Next time on Behind the story, I'll discuss the background of Mysteries of Udolpho, how it was originally published and it's various covers through the years.