GuccinivsGozzano Francesco Guccini - L'Isola Non Trovata
GUIDO GOZZANO
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL

I.
But more beautiful than all is the Island Not-Found:
the one that the King of Spain received from his cousin
the King of Portugal with a sealed signature
and a bull from the Pope in Gothic Latin.
The Infante set sail for the fabulous kingdom,
he saw the fortunate: Iunonia, Gorgo, Hera
and the Sargasso Sea and the Shadowy Sea
seeking that island... But the island was not there.
In vain the tubby galleys with round sails,
the caravels armed their prows in vain:
with the Pope’s blessing, the island hides away,
and Portugal and Spain are still searching for it.

II.
The island exists. Sometimes it appears from afar
between Tenerife and Palma, suffused with mystery:
“...the Island Not-Found!” The good Canarian
from the high Peak of Teyde points it out to the foreigner.
It's marked on the ancient charts of pirates.
...Hifola da - trovarfi? ...Hifola pellegrina?...
It’s the enchanted island gliding over the seas;
sometimes sailors see it close by...
They skim that blessed shore with their prows:
among flowers never seen, tall palms soar,
the divine forest thick and alive smells sweet,
the cardamom weeps, the gums exude...
It announces itself with fragrance, like a courtesan,
the Island Not-Found... But, if the pilot moves forward,
it swiftly fades away like a vain semblance,
tinged with the blue color of distance...