Exploring cultures and communities – the slow way

A monument that commemorates a meeting that never took place

article summary —

Statues have always been an endless source of fascination for us. Even ones that don't exist, like the fifteen mile high statue of Arthur Dent on the fictitious planet of Brontitall in Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Only slightly less improbable is the new statue of James Joyce in the Italian city of Trieste - unless of course you happen to know that the Irish writer actually lived in Trieste for over a decade. In Finnegan's Wake, Joyce calls the Adriatic port Tarry-Easty.

At the top of hidden europe's list of improbable street monuments is one that commemorates a meeting that never took place - an alleged encounter in 1892 between Irish playwright Oscar Wilde and his Estonian namesake: Eduard Wilde.


This is just an excerpt. If you are a subscriber to hidden europe magazine, you can log in to read the full text online. Of course you can also read the full article in the print edition of hidden europe 5.

About the authors

hidden europe

and manage hidden europe, a Berlin-based editorial bureau that supplies text and images to media across Europe. Together they edit hidden europe magazine. Nicky and Susanne are dedicated slow travellers. They delight in discovering the exotic in the everyday.

This article was published in hidden europe 5.