User:MMahalick/Bay of Baiae and the Romantics

Bay of Baiae and the Romantics is located in Italy on the Gulf of Naples, in modern Italian the bay is referred to as only Baia in modern Italian. Named for Baius, a helmsman for Odysseus, who died there. The site was a posh retreat for the wealthy and elite of ancient Rome. Its history drew Romantic travelers and literary people to the site years later as an interest was reawakened in the region. Surrounded by other famous sites like pompeii, naples, and capri, the once great site of imperial Rome know lies under water due to volcanic activity and earthquakes. Just as it was once a site for the wealthy, it drew may of the intellectual and literary minds of the Romantic era.

Percy and Mary Shelley stopped there on their tour of Italy and the scene must have left an impression because it can be found in both of their works. Most notably the bay appears in Percy’s “Ode to the West Wind.” The poem was written in Florence, Italy in 1819. Not only did the landscapes affect his poetry, but the culture and history of Rome can also be seen as importance influences in this poem. Written in terza rima, the poem follows a highly strict structure used by Dante, an Italian poet, in his Divine Comedy.