Memorial Association    Patron HRH The Prince of Wales

 Registered Charity No: 212692

Keats-Shelley

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Curator: Dr Giuseppe Albano

Number 26 Piazza di Spagna, at the foot of the Spanish Steps, used to be known as the 'Casina Rossa', or the 'Little Red House'. Most famously, it is the house in which John Keats died in 1821. The Keats-Shelley Memorial Association acquired it in 1906, in order to prevent it from being turned into a hotel, and to preserve it as a memorial to other English Romantic poets who spent time in Italy, notably Shelley, but also Byron and Leigh Hunt.

The exterior of this eighteenth century palazetto is as it was when Keats arrived in Rome. Inside, it has become filled with treasures and relics of the younger Romantic poets, and of other writers associated with Rome – Goethe, the Brownings, Henry James, Edith Wharton and James Joyce. The large Salone holds the finest library of English Romantic literature on the Continent.

To find out more about this unique corner of English letters in the heart of Rome you can visit our Rome website.

There, with another click, you can make a three-dimensional “virtual” tour of the House.

Drawing by Joseph Severn of

Keats on his deathbed

Fragment of manuscript

'Lamia' by Keats

The Keats-Shelley

Memorial House

The House at the foot of the Spanish Steps

Bust of Shelley

by Moses Ezekiel in the Salone

Message from Curator

Letter

by Shelley

A Message from Dr Giuseppe Albano, Curator of the Keats-Shelley House:

The Keats-Shelley House in Rome has now served as a museum for more than a century and continues to attract visitors from all over the world. Many are already well-acquainted with the work of Keats and his fellow Romantics. Others are simply spurred by their curiosity about this handsome historic house in the heart of this splendid city. Whatever their reason for coming, all, I’m delighted to say, will discover something wonderful, be it our fine collection of paintings and portraits, busts and miniatures, relics and first editions, manuscripts and letters, or our extensive library which has proved invaluable to many scholars and writers over the years.

We are working hard to improve our visitors’ overall experience and to secure the building’s future. As part of this process, we are presently restoring the house’s exterior and spacious terrace, which will host special events and provide an excellent place for visitors to relax in. But there is also a need to revitalise the interior of the building and its exquisite collections, to host more temporary exhibitions so that the museum can play a stronger part on the national and international museum scene, and to create a cinema room where audiences can learn about the background of the collection and of the house.

All of this requires funds, but as a British museum abroad we receive no public funding from the UK. We therefore rely on the generosity of donors and on revenue from visitors, most notably from our beautiful gift shop which opened in 2010 and which was made possible, alongside vital restorative projects, by our enormously successful Centenary Appeal. However, we must never rely on our laurels, and in order to safeguard the museum’s longevity and prosperity, we always warmly welcome donations, which, however, large or small, will see that future generations continue to enjoy and to learn from it.

The Keats-Shelley House is a truly special place. But we need your help to ensure that it survives and thrives for many, many more years to come.

Thank you.

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