Christian August, Prince of Waldeck

  • 1744–1798
  • Stages: 3

Arolsen 1744 – Sintra 1798

German prince and officer in Austrian service, met in Rome: Goethe cannot resist his invitation and, through his rank and influence, gains access to many fine things. In Naples, on 1 March 1787, he takes him by boat to Pozzuoli, "under the purest sky the most treacherous ground"; on 9 March they are together at Capodimonte, among paintings, coins and gems. As Goethe leaves for Sicily the prince unsettles him by proposing, on his return, a journey to Greece and Dalmatia. It is he who commissions Goethe's bust from the sculptor Trippel.

Main image: AI reconstruction at the age 43, as in 1787, based on the period portrait (SPUN, 2026).

Christian August, Prince of Waldeck
The period portrait. Christian August, Prince of Waldeck, portrait by an unidentified painter, 1789. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.

Sources: J. W. Goethe, Italienische Reise.

Christian August, principe di Waldeck (ricostruzione AI)
The Molo, departure and return

The corvette built in America, the cabin, the bills and farewells; the Marchese Berio eager to meet the author of Werther.

Molo Beverello, Via Acton, 80133 Napoli
Capodimonte

With the Prince of Waldeck to the great collection of paintings, coins and gems at Capodimonte.

Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, Via Miano 2, 80131 Napoli
The Phlegraean Fields

Instead of Vesuvius, a boat trip to Pozzuoli with the Prince of Waldeck: «the clearest sky above, the most unstable ground below».

Solfatara, Via Solfatara 161, 80078 Pozzuoli (NA)

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