NEWS

On 31st October 1820, John Keats set foot on Italian soil - or to be precise a Naples dock - after a 35 day sea voyage, and a further 10 days languishing in quarantine in the Bay of Naples.

To commemorate the 200th anniversary of this momentous moment in his life - and also Keats’ 225th birthday - the Keats-Shelley House and Keats-Shelley Memorial Association are hosting a series of events.

A new episode of the Keats-Shelley Podcast reflects on what Keats’ arrival in Italy means for us two centuries later.​​​​

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We think about Joseph Severn and PB Shelley, Oscar Wilde and Christina Rossetti, the museum’s wartime curator Vera Cacciatore and the young American soldier who was the first person to visit Keats’ bedroom after the liberation of Rome in June 1944. Mostly we think about John Keats, his life, his death and the poetry that continues to inspire so many people across the world. This episode introduces a series that will tell the story of Keats’ final months, John Keats’ Dying Year. We will post the next episode early in November.

Our Google Earth Map of Keats’ Final Voyage follows Keats to the Villa di Londra, and his first day in Naples.

We have also added a new Google Earth Map offering an overview of the voyage.

In Rome, the Keats-Shelley House opens a new exhibition, Gusto by Nancy Cadogan. Gusto features sixteen new oil paintings inspired by the great romantic poets and is named after William Hazlitt’s essay ‘On Gusto’, written in 1817.

Cadogan created Gusto while in lockdown and what emerged was a body of work that strives to give hope out of the global health and economic crisis.

Finally, you can enjoy Julian Sands’ passionate reading of poems by Keats, Shelley and Byron live at the Keats-Shelley House earlier this autumn.

There will be more events throughout the winter. All the latest news will be posted on our websites. Or you can follow us on Twitter or Facebook.

James Kidd