by Elisabetta Stefanelli
Countess Teresa Guiccioli changed
Lord Byron's life, guiding him to the heart of Ravenna and to
the rooms of the splendid Guiccioli Palace, which has been
transformed into a museum dedicated to the poet and to the
19th-century movement for Italian unification Risorgimento.
On November 29, the history of the poet symbolizing Romanticism
will star at the inauguration in Ravenna of the Museo Byron e
del Risorgimento at Palazzo Guiccioli, an innovative exhibition
site which was first conceived by the president of Cassa di
Ravenna Antonio Patuelli.
Alberta Fabbri took on the role of director of the museum
complex which hosts, among other things, also the Museo delle
Bambole (Museum of Dolls) - Collection Graziella Gardini Pasini.
As part of an initiative promoted by the Fondazione Cassa di
Risparmio di Ravenna, the imposing historic building - which has
been revamped during a decade-long renovation - was bought by
the municipality of Ravenna in 2013 and became a museum in which
- across two floors including 24 rooms stretching over 2,220
square metres - visitors can discover all the details of Lord
Byron's stay in the city.
The poet lived in Ravenna from 1819 until 1821 to follow his
beloved Teresa Gamba, wife of Count Alessandro, who was 40 years
older.
Percy Shelley also visited during his stay.
The rooms bear witness to the poet's love for the countess and
his interest in the Carboneria movement advocating liberal and
patriotic ideals - the first step in his path to champion
freedom and join the fight for independence in Greece.
Such history is showcased by the documents and objects on
display in the rooms where Bryon wrote and loved.
In his small study, where restoration work has brought to light
a fresco he commissioned, he wrote the uncompleted Don Juan,
Sardanapalus, The Two Foscari and The Prophecy of Dante, among
others.
The museum is also innovative with an interactive experience
provided by Studio Azzurro transporting visitors back to 19th
century Ravenna.
The noble palace Guiccioli was among the most imposing and
elegant in the city, built at the end of the 1600s for the Osio
family and bought at the beginning of the 19th century by
Alessandro Guiccioli.
Over the years, visitors included patriot Luigi Carlo Farini,
Napoleon's niece, a princess of Valacchia and Oscar Wilde.
In 1943, it became the headquarters of German troops.
The building's rooms are now back to their original splendour
with an ideal itinerary of the Byron Museum - which now hosts
the Italian chapter of the Byron Society - ending with the
poet's departure for Greece and continuing with the Museo del
Risorgimento.
Visitors will get an insight into local and national history,
first with Napoleon's era and then the unification of Italy,
with the journey ending with the section dedicated to the myth
of Giuseppe Garibaldi and his wife Anita, who died in 1849 in
Mandriole.
The objects on display - over 450 paintings, sculptures, photos,
weapons and uniforms, medals, edicts and manifestos - belong to
the municipality of Ravenna, including the Guerini Collection,
and coming from the Classense Library, Fondazione Spadolini
Nuova Antologia and Fondazione Bettino Craxi, granted to
Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ravenna.
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