--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Clarice, the glorious city, has a…" description: "\"“Clarice, the glorious city, has a tormented history. Several times it decayed, then burgeoned again, always keeping the first Clarice as an unparallel..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/italo-calvino-402_cairo_clarice-the-glorious-city-has-a-tormente_681087.jpg" --- # Clarice, the glorious city, has a tormented history… ![“Clarice, the glorious city, has a tormented history. Several times it decayed, then burgeoned again, always keeping the first Clarice as an unparalleled model of every splendor, compared to which the city’s present state can only cause more sighs at every fading of the stars.” quote by Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/italo-calvino-402_cairo_clarice-the-glorious-city-has-a-tormente_681087.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/italo-calvino-402_cairo_clarice-the-glorious-city-has-a-tormente_681087.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/italo-calvino-402_cairo_clarice-the-glorious-city-has-a-tormente_681087.jpg) > ““Clarice, the glorious city, has a tormented history. Several times it decayed, then burgeoned again, always keeping the first Clarice as an unparalleled model of every splendor, compared to which the city’s present state can only cause more sighs at every fading of the stars.”” [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The city of Clarice repeatedly collapses and revives, always retaining its original grandeur as a benchmark for current decline. **In simple terms:** Cities rise and fall, yet the original splendor remains a standard. Key Takeaway Recognize the value of past excellence. Themes history urban decay resilience nostalgia Mood melancholic thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - urban planning - historical preservation - comparative analysis - city branding Key Concepts urban cycles cultural memory Questions to Reflect On - What lessons can contemporary societies learn from past glories? - How can we preserve original excellence? A Different Perspective Modern cities may lack the depth of historical identity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cairo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cairo/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [City Tormented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city-tormented-5388245/) [Clarice Glorious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clarice-glorious-5388247/) [Clarice Unparalleled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clarice-unparalleled-5388244/) [Glorious City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glorious-city-1275447/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Invisible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invisible/) [Keeping Clarice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keeping-clarice-5388246/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Glorious as it had been, the city-state was obsolete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-dahl/glorious-as-it-had-been-the-city-state-was-obsolete/) [Robert A. Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-dahl/) > [Each new Clarice, compact as a living body with its smells and its breath, shows off, like a gem, what remains of the ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/each-new-clarice-compact-as-a-living-body-with-its-smells-and-its/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [The other thing that troubled me: Dad was clutching his workbag. Usually when he does that, it means we're in danger. Like the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/the-other-thing-that-troubled-me-dad-was-clutching-his-workbag/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“Paris on the Nile’ or the ‘finery of Cairo’, Al-Ismailiya – a district to which Ismael gave his name – comprised large, wide avenues,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarek-osman/paris-on-the-nile-or-the-finery-of-cairo-al-ismailiya-a-district-to/) [Tarek Osman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarek-osman/) > [In Cairo, these young men hanging around in the street, we're told these guys are lazy, they're uneducated, they don't care, they don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/in-cairo-these-young-men-hanging-around-in-the-street-we-re-told/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [My mother is from Cairo, Georgia. This makes everything she says sound like it went through a curling iron.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/my-mother-is-from-cairo-georgia-this-makes-everything-she-says-sound/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [Space is about 100 kilometers away. That’s far away—I wouldn’t want to climb a ladder to get there—but it isn’t that far away. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-munroe/space-is-about-100-kilometers-away-that-s-far-away-i-wouldn-t-want-to/) [Randall Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-munroe/) > [From the streets of Cairo and the Arab Spring, to Occupy Wall Street, from the busy political calendar to the aftermath of the tsunami…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rather/from-the-streets-of-cairo-and-the-arab-spring-to-occupy-wall-street/) [Dan Rather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-rather/) > [“Mansour earned the nickname "Al-Turbiny," from the air-conditioned express trains linking Cairo with Egypt's second city Alexandria, whose roofs were the favored location for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-bradley/mansour-earned-the-nickname-al-turbiny-from-the-air-conditioned/) [John R. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-bradley/) > [Ah, the camel of Cairo! ... He went quietly and comfortably through the narrowest lanes and the densest crowds by the mere force of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-jeannette-duncan/ah-the-camel-of-cairo-he-went-quietly-and-comfortably-through-the/) [Sara Jeannette Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-jeannette-duncan/) > [I wish I could attribute the absence of any conventional Arab offensive in the last 20 years to a change of political climate or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-davis-hanson/i-wish-i-could-attribute-the-absence-of-any-conventional-arab/) [Victor Davis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-davis-hanson/) > [In 1491 the Inka ruled the greatest empire on earth. Bigger than Ming Dynasty China, bigger than Ivan the Great’s expanding Russia, bigger than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/in-1491-the-inka-ruled-the-greatest-empire-on-earth-bigger-than-ming/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [An Egyptian newspaper once publicly identified me as the C.I.A. station chief in Cairo. It seemed so stupid at the time. I was only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-engel/an-egyptian-newspaper-once-publicly-identified-me-as-the-c-i-a/) [Richard Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-engel/) > [ My contemplation of life and human nature in that secluded place \[cell 54 of Cairo Central Prison\] taught me that he who cannot change… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anwar-sadat/my-contemplation-of-life-and-human-nature-in-that-secluded-place-cell/) [Anwar Sadat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anwar-sadat/) > [Both of these places, Cairo's downtown and Tahrir Square, are in the heart of downtown Cairo. They are places where young people gather to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leila-fadel/both-of-these-places-cairo-s-downtown-and-tahrir-square-are-in-the/) [Leila Fadel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leila-fadel/) ## More by Italo Calvino > [“(one would say yes, if not every day, at least fairly regularly), whether only for yourself or also for others (often only for yourself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/one-would-say-yes-if-not-every-day-at-least-fairly-regularly-whether/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“The Great Khan tried to concentrate on the game: but now it was the game’s reason that eluded him. The end of every game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-great-khan-tried-to-concentrate-on-the-game-but-now-it-was-the/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Or else you can say, like the camel driver who took me there: "I arrived here in my first youth, one morning, many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/or-else-you-can-say-like-the-camel-driver-who-took-me-there-i-arrived/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“The naked man had lost hope now; he would never be able to return to the earth's surface;he would never leave the bottom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-naked-man-had-lost-hope-now-he-would-never-be-able-to-return-to/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“The art of writing tales consists in an ability to draw the rest of life from the little one has understood of it; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-art-of-writing-tales-consists-in-an-ability-to-draw-the-rest-of/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“I ask you to come down to earth," said the Baron in a calm, rather faint voice, "and to take up the duties of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/i-ask-you-to-come-down-to-earth-said-the-baron-in-a-calm-rather-faint/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [The unconscious is the ocean of the unsayable, of what has been expelled from the land of language, removed as a result of ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-unconscious-is-the-ocean-of-the-unsayable-of-what-has-been/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“... KUBLAI: We have proved that if we were here, we would not be. POLO: And here, in fact, we are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/kublai-we-have-proved-that-if-we-were-here-we-would-not-be-polo-and/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“And yet, in Raissa, at every moment there is a child in a window who laughs seeing a dog that has jumped on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/and-yet-in-raissa-at-every-moment-there-is-a-child-in-a-window-who/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Ludmilla, now you are being read. Your body is being subjected to a systematic reading, through channels of tactile information, visual, olfactory, and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/ludmilla-now-you-are-being-read-your-body-is-being-subjected-to-a/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Once the process of falsification is set in motion, it won't stop. We're in a country where everything that can be falsified has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/once-the-process-of-falsification-is-set-in-motion-it-won-t-stop-we/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Your case gives me new hope," I said to him. "With me, more and more often I happen to pick up a novel that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/your-case-gives-me-new-hope-i-said-to-him-with-me-more-and-more-often/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [We could say, then, that man is an instrument the world employs to renew its own image constantly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/we-could-say-then-that-man-is-an-instrument-the-world-employs-to/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Perhaps it is this story that is a bridge over the void, and as it advances it flings forward news and sensations and emotions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/perhaps-it-is-this-story-that-is-a-bridge-over-the-void-and-as-it/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [Yet, even now, ever time (often) that I find that I don't understand something, then instinctively, I'm filled with the hope that perhaps this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/yet-even-now-ever-time-often-that-i-find-that-i-don-t-understand/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) [Explore all 468 Italo Calvino quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) ## More Cairo quotes > [Both of these places, Cairo's downtown and Tahrir Square, are in the heart of downtown Cairo. They are places where young people gather to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leila-fadel/both-of-these-places-cairo-s-downtown-and-tahrir-square-are-in-the/) [Leila Fadel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leila-fadel/) > [ My contemplation of life and human nature in that secluded place \[cell 54 of Cairo Central Prison\] taught me that he who cannot change… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anwar-sadat/my-contemplation-of-life-and-human-nature-in-that-secluded-place-cell/) [Anwar Sadat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anwar-sadat/) > [An Egyptian newspaper once publicly identified me as the C.I.A. station chief in Cairo. It seemed so stupid at the time. I was only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-engel/an-egyptian-newspaper-once-publicly-identified-me-as-the-c-i-a/) [Richard Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-engel/) > [In 1491 the Inka ruled the greatest empire on earth. Bigger than Ming Dynasty China, bigger than Ivan the Great’s expanding Russia, bigger than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/in-1491-the-inka-ruled-the-greatest-empire-on-earth-bigger-than-ming/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [I wish I could attribute the absence of any conventional Arab offensive in the last 20 years to a change of political climate or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-davis-hanson/i-wish-i-could-attribute-the-absence-of-any-conventional-arab/) [Victor Davis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-davis-hanson/) > [Ah, the camel of Cairo! ... He went quietly and comfortably through the narrowest lanes and the densest crowds by the mere force of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-jeannette-duncan/ah-the-camel-of-cairo-he-went-quietly-and-comfortably-through-the/) [Sara Jeannette Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-jeannette-duncan/) > [“Mansour earned the nickname "Al-Turbiny," from the air-conditioned express trains linking Cairo with Egypt's second city Alexandria, whose roofs were the favored location for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-bradley/mansour-earned-the-nickname-al-turbiny-from-the-air-conditioned/) [John R. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-bradley/) > [From the streets of Cairo and the Arab Spring, to Occupy Wall Street, from the busy political calendar to the aftermath of the tsunami…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rather/from-the-streets-of-cairo-and-the-arab-spring-to-occupy-wall-street/) [Dan Rather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-rather/) > [Space is about 100 kilometers away. That’s far away—I wouldn’t want to climb a ladder to get there—but it isn’t that far away. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-munroe/space-is-about-100-kilometers-away-that-s-far-away-i-wouldn-t-want-to/) [Randall Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-munroe/) > [My mother is from Cairo, Georgia. This makes everything she says sound like it went through a curling iron.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/my-mother-is-from-cairo-georgia-this-makes-everything-she-says-sound/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [In Cairo, these young men hanging around in the street, we're told these guys are lazy, they're uneducated, they don't care, they don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/in-cairo-these-young-men-hanging-around-in-the-street-we-re-told/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [“Paris on the Nile’ or the ‘finery of Cairo’, Al-Ismailiya – a district to which Ismael gave his name – comprised large, wide avenues,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarek-osman/paris-on-the-nile-or-the-finery-of-cairo-al-ismailiya-a-district-to/) [Tarek Osman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarek-osman/) > [The other thing that troubled me: Dad was clutching his workbag. Usually when he does that, it means we're in danger. Like the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/the-other-thing-that-troubled-me-dad-was-clutching-his-workbag/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Each new Clarice, compact as a living body with its smells and its breath, shows off, like a gem, what remains of the ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/each-new-clarice-compact-as-a-living-body-with-its-smells-and-its/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [I loved the Four Seasons in Cairo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillip-schofield/i-loved-the-four-seasons-in-cairo/) [Phillip Schofield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillip-schofield/) [Browse all 62 Cairo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cairo/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Clarice, the glorious city, has a tormented history. Several times it decayed, then burgeoned again, always keeping the first Clarice as an unparalleled model of every splendor, compared to which the city’s present state can only cause more sighs at every fading of the stars.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Italo Calvino" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/clarice-the-glorious-city-has-a-tormented-history-several-times-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cairo" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/clarice-the-glorious-city-has-a-tormented-history-several-times-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/italo-calvino-402_cairo_clarice-the-glorious-city-has-a-tormente_681087.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/italo-calvino-402_cairo_clarice-the-glorious-city-has-a-tormente_681087.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/italo-calvino-402_cairo_clarice-the-glorious-city-has-a-tormente_681087.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Clarice, the glorious city, has a tormented history. Several times it decayed, then burgeoned again, always…” — Italo Calvino", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Italo Calvino", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Clarice, the glorious city, has a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/clarice-the-glorious-city-has-a-tormented-history-several-times-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/clarice-the-glorious-city-has-a-tormented-history-several-times-it/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```