Back in time at Keats-Shelley House!

On our first week, interrupting our discovery of ancient Rome, we went back in time visiting Keats-Shelly Memorial House.

As history tells us, lots of well-known authors traveled to Italy at least once in their lives, all for different reasons: mostly to immerse themselves into the classical culture that shapes the country. But Keats and Shelley’s journey in Italy had nothing to do with self-rediscovery.

We weren’t expecting the tour to be so interesting: the students listened carefully as the guide introduced us not only to the life but also the soul of these two poets. In particular, we learned about the tormented and troubled life of John Keats, who spent his last five months in the apartment that faces Piazza di Spagna, knowing that soon he would have died of tuberculosis.

At his time, Keats was a criticized poet, for his modern view of things; but he didn't stop writing, thanks to his close friends who encouraged and financially supported him.

We also learned about the secret relationship he had with Fanny Brawne, to whom he could not marry, always because of his bad financial state. To her he wrote many poems and many letters too, that now are all collected in a book that the Memorial House sells.

Most of the furniture in Keats bedroom were burned after he died (the only thing that remained intact was the bed's framework).

But, except his works, there are other things that were preserved till now to keep the memory of the poet, such as his funerary mask.

He remained an unknown writer until Oscar Wilde praised his work. Even his grave keeps him anonymous, by only saying “Here lies One Whose Name was writ in Water”.

Even though his life story was not so happy it touched most of our students that, after the guided tour, went all buying books about his works, especially “Keats in Love” (the book previously mentioned)