“Arriving at each new city, the traveler finds again a past of his that he did not know he had: the foreignness of what you no longer are or no longer possess lies in wait for you in foreign, unpossessed places.”
– Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities
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Peony Moon 
That’s an intriguing idea…
Awesome. So well said. I also get this feeling when I go back home. That land will always be the core of me, but now I do not have it. What I am has changed. I am a foreigner.
Now I’m crying, damnit. Just kidding. I love this quote.
Lol at Julie’s comment. Yes, it’s a very profound statement.
I have read many of Calvino’s fiction novels and short stories; however, I have not yet read the novel, Invisible Cities. From what I understand, it reads more like a series of short stories—maybe, descriptions would be a better word, to paint a pointillist picture.
This quote seems like fine point to me.
I did a parody of and homage to another Calvino novel, which I would highly recommend, If on a winter’s night a traveler.
Hi Kurt, thanks for visiting. I thoroughly enjoyed Invisible Cities. I have If on a winter’s night a traveler on my bedside table.