Retracing the history of the valuable mementos of Lord Byron preserved in the museum dedicated to him is a fascinating exercise — all the more so when the main characters appear in person. Geoffrey Bond did just that, together with his wife Dianora, in this autumn so full of surprises for the Byron and Risorgimento Museums.
Bond is no ordinary patron: he lives in a house that once belonged to Lord Byron, in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England, and has put together a large collection of Byroniana. In 2019, upon learning that a museum dedicated to the great English poet was being created in Ravenna, he decided to donate a significant portion of his collection to the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ravenna.
“Byron lived in the house where we now live from 1803 to 1808,” recalls Bond, who was formerly Sheriff with the Lord Mayor in London and now devotes himself to his great passion for collecting works. “He was between fifteen and twenty years old and composed a number of important early poems.”
These poems are contained in Hours of Idleness, the first edition of which is kept in the “Travel Room” at the Byron and Risorgimento Museums.
During his visit to Ravenna, Bond was accompanied by the President of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ravenna, Mirella Falconi Mazzotti; the President of the Italian Byron Society, Ernesto Giuseppe Alfieri; the Vice President, Gregory Dowling; the Director of the Museums, Alberta Fabbri; the Coordinator of the Steering Committees, Donatino Domini; and committee member Claudia Giuliani.
Domini himself recounts how the connection with Byron’s house in Southwell came about: “In 2019, when the museum project was taking shape, it was Bond himself — who had already heard about it in England in 2015–2016 — who contacted us and came to Ravenna. He donated some extraordinary items, among them the bust of Byron that stands in the Venice Room alongside Teresa.”
Bond has continued to enrich the collection of the Byron and Risorgimento Museums with further memorabilia: during his visit, he presented the Museums with two busts “dating from 1830 and made in the famous porcelain factory of Worcester.”
Geoffrey Bond is an enthusiast: he became so captivated by the multimedia displays of the Museums that he repeatedly expressed wonder and surprise, culminating in an enthusiastic round of applause for the final interactive exhibit in the Hall of Greece, where a blow on the table triggers the narration of Byron’s last days.
After the visit by Byron’s descendant, Robin, and his wife, Lady Robyn Byron, another distinguished Englishman connected to the poet’s legacy has arrived in Ravenna, drawn by the extraordinary international media attention aroused by the Byron and Risorgimento Museums—particularly in the English-speaking world. But the Museums are winning over everyone, as proven by the 1,050 visits recorded during the “È Cultura” event. This success has inspired the President of the Foundation, Mirella Falconi Mazzotti, to plan a major surprise to celebrate the Museums’ anniversary on November 29, 2025.
Ravenna, October 17, 2025
