After two intense days of institutional commitments in Rome, the royal couple moved to Ravenna for a dip in culture and history. Right their four -day state visit ends. Among the most significant events, Queen Camilla wanted to stop in a place imbued with poetry and memory: the byron Museum of Palazzo Guiccioli in the heart of Ravenna. A gesture far from formal, but deeply linked to his personal passions and his cultural commitment. We at Vanity Fair We had the privilege of being between the only two journalists admitted to the private tour of the sovereign inside the museum. And we can tell you, with emotion, the impressions collected live.
Dressed with an elegant cream -colored dress, the queen literally shone under the hot light of the sun of the courtyard of Palazzo Guiccioli. As soon as he arrived, his majesty has taken a short ten -minute break in the Italian Byron Society offices, hosted inside the historic Palazzo Guiccioli, home of the only museum in the world entirely dedicated to Lord Byron. In perfect British style, he asked for a tea with milk, his favorite drink.
This was welcomed by Mirella Falconi Mazzotti, president of the Cassa di Risparmio di Ravenna Foundation (owner of the museum). The president then presented Ernesto Giuseppe Alfieri, president of the Foundation and promoter of the inauguration of the renewed Palazzo Guiccioli and its museum spaces. Also Alberta Fabbri, director of the Museum was also present.
Passionate reader who has always been a tireless promoter of the value of the written word, La Regina participated with interest in the reception organized in collaboration with The Queen’s reading roomthe beneficial association she founded in 2021. Born during the pandemic as a club of the virtual book, the initiative has the aim of making reading accessible, shared and source of comfort even in the most difficult moments.
His romantic gaze, while listening to the verses taken from Beppus by Byron recited in both languages, he enchanted those present. Even if you, with her well -known British Sense of Humour, smiling, revealed: “I appreciated them very much, even if I did not happen to the Italian part”. The queen appeared enthusiastic to meet the representatives of the cultural and literary associations of Ravenna, addressing punctual questions and showing an authentic interest for the very rich byronian heritage guarded by the city.
It was understood that he was in his natural environment and that he felt comfortable. “For me, reading is a great adventure” he reiterated on more than one occasion, underlining once again how the power of words can unite, heal and raise. A love for literature that has its roots in childhood: the queen told on several occasions that she has fallen in love with reading since she was a child, thanks to her father, Bruce Shand, who often read her and inspired her passion for literature. Today it is the patron of numerous organizations that promote literacy, including the National Literacy Trust, First Story, Booktrust And Coram Beanstalk.
The visit continued through the first three rooms of the museum, which tell the Italian journey of Byron: from the stay in Venice and the meeting with Teresa Gamba Guiccioli, wife of Count Guiccioli, up to the last stage in Ravenna. The third room is dedicated to the city of Romagna, where memorabilia belonging to Teresa are kept, linked to the memory of the English poet. And in the end, surprisingly, The king also appeared, smiling and good humorgreeted and tightened the hand to those present (to us too!) Thanking and promising to return.
Byron, a romantic poet par excellence, moved to Italy in 1816, during a period of serious emotional and personal crisis, immediately after his famous divorce from his first wife, Annabella Milbanke, and the intensification of public hostility towards him in Great Britain. His life had become a whirlwind of scandals and torments, and the poet decided to get away from his native land to seek peace and a new direction. In Italy, he found both a refuge for his fragile health, thanks to the mild climate, and a land full of history, art and culture, which provided him with a great source of inspiration for the romantic movement.
The visit to Dante’s tomb and the dip in the art in San Vitale and Galla Placidia
THEIn Mattinata Reale in Ravenna, a tribute to the high poet who deeply influenced world literature began at the tomb of Dante Alighieri. Located in the heart of Ravenna, at the Basilica of San Francesco, the tomb is considered a national monument and houses the remains of the author of the Divine comedy. Dante Alighieri lived the last years of his life in Ravenna, where he died in 1321, far from his Florence Christmas due to exile. The place surrounding the tomb, known as Dante areait was designed to create a refuge of peace and tranquility, far from the chaos of the city, making it not only a place of memory, but also a sensory experience that allows you to “feel” history. And right here King Carlo seemed very excited.
The king then visited two masterpieces of the Ravenna and World Heritage: the Basilica of San Vitale and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia (inserted in 1991 on the list of Italian heritage sites from UNESCO9, real jewels of Byzantine mosaic art. This time to guide the Royal Driving Federico Marchetti, founder of the Yoox fashion platform, president of the Royal Task Force (an organization that promotes sustainability in the fashion field) And a great friend of King Carlo, together with Professor Cristina Carile, coordinator of the master’s degree course in archaeological, artistic and landscape assets at the Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna.
«When I received the letter of King Carlo before Christmas, in which he told me that he would chose Ravenna as a second and last stage of his state visit to Italy, I tried immense joy. It is my hometowna place I am very close, where my eighty -six years old mother lives and live my childhood friends, “said Federico Marchetti. During the visit, King Carlo also met the young artists of the Academy of Fine Arts of Ravenna, symbolically contributing to the laying of a card in a mosaic depicting his coronation.
King Carlo’s love for Italy and for his beauties grew up as a young man, nourished by conversations with his grandmother, the mother queen, who taught him to appreciate art, history and literature. Once, Carlo said on several occasions: “My grandmother was the person who taught me to look at things.”
The memory of liberation: 80 years from the end of the Nazi occupation
Culminating point of the visit to Ravenna, the participation of the sovereigns in the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the city (April 10, 1945), which took place thanks to the intervention of the allied forces, including British and Canadians. At the ceremony, hosted in the Town Hall of Ravenna, President Mattarella and numerous civil and military authorities were present. The British and Canadian flags have won in front of the Town Hall of November since 1946 as a sign of gratitude. After a meeting with the partisan veterans, the royalists appeared from the famous balcony of the Resistance, recalling one of the most intense moments in recent Italian history.
Whiskey and Parmesan to savor the taste of Romagna with a British touch
Of course, space also to the good Romagna food and the excellence of the region, within a gastronomic festival, in Piazza del Popolo, which also included British touches with original combinations such as whiskey and Parmesan. To make the honors of the house some of the most prestigious signatures of Italian cuisine: the chef Massimo Bottura, Massimo Spigaroli of the Zibello culatello, much loved by King Carlo, and the Roman chef Max Mariola.
Among the shared values ​​that this visit wanted to underline, there is also the love for Italian gastronomy, a theme that King Carlo had already shown to appreciate last February during a Highgrove dinner. «Good food unites people and what we choose to eat helps to define ourselves, as families, communities and nations. It brings us sustenance, but also comfort. Binds generations, since the recipes are handed down from one to the other“, The king said in his speech.
Source: Vanity Fair
I’m Susan Karen, a professional writer and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in Entertainment news, writing stories that keep readers informed on all the latest developments in the industry. With over five years of experience in creating engaging content and copywriting for various media outlets, I have grown to become an invaluable asset to any team.
