The great new feature of 2025 and increasingly the focus of international media and cultural attention, the Byron and Risorgimento Museums are experiencing an extraordinary moment thanks to the worldwide interest surrounding this fascinating cultural hub, promoted by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ravenna and by the Museums’ creator, Antonio Patuelli.
This extraordinary development is the subject of the Libro Strenna (the traditional Christmas gift book) published by La Cassa di Ravenna Group – which also includes Banca di Imola, Banco di Lucca e del Tirreno, and three companies providing products and services – together with the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ravenna, on the first anniversary of the Museums’ opening.
The remarkable history of the Risorgimento and its literary, emotional, and ideological connections with Lord Byron have not only placed Ravenna at the centre of international cultural and tourist reporting, but are now also the theme of this special volume, edited by Franco Gabici and published by Minerva.
170 pages long, this Italian- and English-language book will soon be available for sale in major bookshop, as well as at the Byron and Risorgimento Museums bookshop. It recounts the Museums’ exceptional year, in which visiting dignitaries included heads of state such as King Charles and Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom, the Regents of San Marino Denise Bronzetti and Italo Righi, institutional authorities of the European Union such as Vice President Raffaele Fitto, representatives of the Italian Republic including Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani, and prominent figures from the cultural and entertainment worlds such as Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, Gianni Morandi, Riccardo Cocciante, and Antonio Caprarica. It also features the visits of international figures connected to Byron, including his great-great-grandson Robin Byron and his wife Lady Robin, as well as the English patron Geoffrey Bond.
The scholarly essays featured in the volume enable readers fully to appreciate the wonder of a palace whose masterful restoration reflects the magic of the nineteenth century. The authors of these essays are Antonio Patuelli (Byron and Dante), Franco Gabici (Illustrious Visits to the Byron and Risorgimento Museums), Diego Saglia and Gregory Dowling (The Byron Museum: a Unique Place and Its Unique Stories), Sandro Rogari (Byron and the Risorgimento: Two Great Museums for a Unique History of Freedom and Culture), Attilio Brilli (Byron after Ravenna: the Journey to Tuscany), Giorgio Costa (Lord Byron and Teresa Gamba: a Love Story That Became Literature), and Filippo Mordani (Historical Eulogy of George Lord Byron).
Photographs by Giampiero Corelli capture this extraordinary year, with images – some previously unpublished and exclusive – of the most beautiful moments from the first year of life of the Byron and Risorgimento Museums.
Present at the book launch this morning were Antonio Patuelli, President of the Cassa di Ravenna and creator of the Museums; Mirella Falconi Mazzotti, President of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ravenna; Franco Gabici, editor of the book and Vice President of the Foundation; Fabio Sbaraglia, Councillor for Culture of the Municipality of Ravenna; and publisher Roberto Mugavero. Also present were Ernesto Giuseppe Alfieri, President of the Italian Byron Society; Silvia Masi, Director of the Classense Library; and Alberta Fabbri, Director of the Museums.
The occasion was also marked by the inauguration of the “Teresa Room,” an enchanting jewel within the Museum spaces overlooking the noble courtyard, named after Countess Gamba – a central figure, together with Byron, Garibaldi, and the other heroes of the Risorgimento, in a story rich in charm, culture, and contemporary relevance.
Ravenna, 6 December 2025
