Antonio Patuelli, President of the La Cassa S.p.A. Group, and Ernesto Giuseppe Alfieri, President of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ravenna, together with the founding members Giancarlo Bagnariol, Secretary General of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ravenna, Donatino Domini, Gregory Dowling, Diego Saglia, and notary Guglielmo Scalise, Mirella Falconi Mazzotti and Claudia Giuliani (2024 © Cassa di Risparmio di Ravenna – ph. Giampiero Corelli)
May 25, 2024
The Byron Society now officially has a branch in Italy, based in Ravenna at Palazzo Guiccioli.
From today, Ravenna is officially the headquarters of the Italian Byron Society, affiliated with the prestigious International Association of Byron Societies, which promotes the dissemination of Byronian culture worldwide by organizing conferences, debates, events, exhibitions, scholarships, and other initiatives to spread knowledge of the life and works of the British poet. Ravenna has thus become the Italian capital for these studies, and its official headquarters will be in Palazzo Guiccioli, which hosted the poet and witnessed the creation of some of his most important works between 1819 and 1821, and which will also house the Byron Museum starting from October 26.
The founding act of the Italian Byron Society was signed this morning at the Chiostri Danteschi, owned by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ravenna, in the presence of Ernesto Giuseppe Alfieri, President of the Foundation, who purchased and restored Palazzo Guiccioli to dedicate it to the Byron and Risorgimento Museums, and the Secretary General of the Foundation, Giancarlo Bagnariol.
The purpose of the Italian Byron Society, as stated in its statute, is to “promote in Italy the knowledge and study of the figure and works of George Gordon, Lord Byron, through activities aimed at achieving this goal; promote the translation and publication in Italian of foreign-language works inspired by the life and writings of George Gordon, Lord Byron; and foster cultural exchange with similar Associations and Institutions worldwide, with particular attention to Byron Societies around the world.” The Italian Byron Society is chaired by Ernesto Giuseppe Alfieri, who is also President of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ravenna and President and Board Member of other important cultural institutions in Ravenna. The Vice Presidents are Professor Diego Saglia, full professor of English Literature at the University of Parma and former Director of the Department of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Cultural Enterprises at the same University, and Gregory Dowling, professor of Anglo-American literature at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
The Honorary President of the Italian Byron Society is Antonio Patuelli, President of the La Cassa di Ravenna Group and the first promoter of the Byron Museum and related initiatives in Ravenna, alongside Alfieri and the then President of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ravenna, Lanfranco Gualtieri. Among the founding members of the Italian Byron Society are Donatino Domini and Claudia Giuliani, former directors of the Biblioteca Classense and members of the Scientific Committee that established the Byron Museum, and Mirella Falconi Mazzotti, President of the Fondazione Flaminia and university professor.
“Choosing Ravenna as the seat of the Italian Byron Society is not only an important institutional and cultural promotion,” explains President Alfieri, adding: “It means making our city the permanent venue for workshops, conferences, congresses, events, and debates to continuously explore moments and aspects of Byron’s life and works.”
The decision to found an Italian Byron Society dates back to 2018, at the annual conference of the International Association of Byron Societies, held precisely in Ravenna. At that event, attended by scholars and enthusiasts of the poet from all over the world, the decision was practically unanimous. While anticipation grows for the inauguration of the only museum in Italy dedicated to George Gordon, Lord Byron, this important recognition of the City of Ravenna confirms the extraordinary vision of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ravenna to invest in such a high-profile project, as well as Ravenna’s prominent role not only as the poet’s second homeland—where he probably experienced his most passionate literary and civic season—but also as an unavoidable reference point for international culture. The relationship between Ravenna and Byron was a special connection, marked by the “fatal gift of Italian beauty,” to which today the Byron Society and its newly established Italian headquarters give renewed visibility in a cultural, literary, and tourist context of global resonance.
May 25, 2024
The Byron Society now officially has a branch in Italy, based in Ravenna at Palazzo Guiccioli.
From today, Ravenna is officially the headquarters of the Italian Byron Society, affiliated with the prestigious International Association of Byron Societies, which promotes the dissemination of Byronian culture worldwide by organizing conferences, debates, events, exhibitions, scholarships, and other initiatives to spread knowledge of the life and works of the British poet. Ravenna has thus become the Italian capital for these studies, and its official headquarters will be in Palazzo Guiccioli, which hosted the poet and witnessed the creation of some of his most important works between 1819 and 1821, and which will also house the Byron Museum starting from October 26.
The founding act of the Italian Byron Society was signed this morning at the Chiostri Danteschi, owned by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ravenna, in the presence of Ernesto Giuseppe Alfieri, President of the Foundation, who purchased and restored Palazzo Guiccioli to dedicate it to the Byron and Risorgimento Museums, and the Secretary General of the Foundation, Giancarlo Bagnariol.
The purpose of the Italian Byron Society, as stated in its statute, is to “promote in Italy the knowledge and study of the figure and works of George Gordon, Lord Byron, through activities aimed at achieving this goal; promote the translation and publication in Italian of foreign-language works inspired by the life and writings of George Gordon, Lord Byron; and foster cultural exchange with similar Associations and Institutions worldwide, with particular attention to Byron Societies around the world.” The Italian Byron Society is chaired by Ernesto Giuseppe Alfieri, who is also President of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ravenna and President and Board Member of other important cultural institutions in Ravenna. The Vice Presidents are Professor Diego Saglia, full professor of English Literature at the University of Parma and former Director of the Department of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Cultural Enterprises at the same University, and Gregory Dowling, professor of Anglo-American literature at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
The Honorary President of the Italian Byron Society is Antonio Patuelli, President of the La Cassa di Ravenna Group and the first promoter of the Byron Museum and related initiatives in Ravenna, alongside Alfieri and the then President of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ravenna, Lanfranco Gualtieri. Among the founding members of the Italian Byron Society are Donatino Domini and Claudia Giuliani, former directors of the Biblioteca Classense and members of the Scientific Committee that established the Byron Museum, and Mirella Falconi Mazzotti, President of the Fondazione Flaminia and university professor.
“Choosing Ravenna as the seat of the Italian Byron Society is not only an important institutional and cultural promotion,” explains President Alfieri, adding: “It means making our city the permanent venue for workshops, conferences, congresses, events, and debates to continuously explore moments and aspects of Byron’s life and works.”
The decision to found an Italian Byron Society dates back to 2018, at the annual conference of the International Association of Byron Societies, held precisely in Ravenna. At that event, attended by scholars and enthusiasts of the poet from all over the world, the decision was practically unanimous. While anticipation grows for the inauguration of the only museum in Italy dedicated to George Gordon, Lord Byron, this important recognition of the City of Ravenna confirms the extraordinary vision of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ravenna to invest in such a high-profile project, as well as Ravenna’s prominent role not only as the poet’s second homeland—where he probably experienced his most passionate literary and civic season—but also as an unavoidable reference point for international culture. The relationship between Ravenna and Byron was a special connection, marked by the “fatal gift of Italian beauty,” to which today the Byron Society and its newly established Italian headquarters give renewed visibility in a cultural, literary, and tourist context of global resonance.
