The Byron and Risorgimento Museums welcomed another high-profile guest: internationally renowned singer and composer Riccardo Cocciante paid a surprise visit on Friday 3 October, around 5pm, accompanied by his French wife Catherine Boutet.
They were greeted by Mirella Falconi Mazzotti, President of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ravenna, and Alberta Fabbri, Director of the Museums.
Cocciante explored the Byron Museum during a leisurely visit, and repeatedly praised its wealth of contents and immersive, modern digital experience. He actively engaged with the interactive exhibits – starting from the “Journey Room”, where he enjoyed inserting the cards detailing Byron’s journey to Italy into the projection mechanism, through the “Venice Room”, exploring the displays on Byron’s romance with Teresa, and finally reaching the “Ravenna Room”, where he sat and chatted with the President before getting to the final room dedicated to Byron’s tragic end in Greece. There, by tapping the interactive table, he triggered the concluding narrative about the poet’s final days.
Afterward, Cocciante stopped for a drink at Bar L’Incontro, bustling on a sunny afternoon, and then signed the museum’s guestbook. His signature now joins those of King Charles and Queen Camilla, San Marino’s Regents Italo Righi and Denise Bronzetti, European Commission Vice President Raffaele Fitto, and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. Notably, the most recent signature before Cocciante’s was that of Lord Byron, the poet’s descendant, who visited the museum just days previously with his wife Lady Byron. Among other famous signatories is none other than Gianni Morandi. The Byron and Risorgimento Museums continue to attract a steady stream of cultural and institutional figures, and Cocciante’s visit was another memorable moment for both the museum staff and curious onlookers.
Ravenna, 3 October 2025
(Attached: Photo of Riccardo Cocciante with his wife Catherine, President Falconi Mazzotti, and Director Alberta Fabbri)
