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In 1786, Johann Wolfgang von Goerter suffers from dreadful writers block, and in the dead of night he sets off on his Italian journey.

Amidst the pantheon, the all-engulfing scent of lemon trees and the alluring new

Italian models, his virginity, he loses it in Rome.

His creativity, he rediscovers it in creaking Roman beds. His inspiration gushes like the lava of Vesuvius. The result

of the young artist Wonderlust, over 800 watercolours and three completed plays cherished for all eternity.

Such creative output warrants some downtime.

In the cool halls of the Sistine Chapel, Gerta stops for a nap, on the throne of Pope Pius, the

sits. Well, workation has always been a good idea. How about a trip to Rome?

Book a workation now with the airlines of the Lufthansa Group.

My name is Claire Longrick and I'm the deputy editor of the Guardian Longreed. Following our festive tradition... the going to be celebrating a few of our favorite long reads of the year.

Sally Williams' piece, Dark Waters, how the adventure of a lifetime turned to tragedy,

is the story of how an amateur sailor Simon Spears launched himself into retirement

by joining around the world yacht race one of those extreme endurance races that takes something like a year to complete and how poor

management by the race organization may have contributed to his death by drowning.

The Clipper Around the World Yacht Race is a fantastic adventure and they go across

...