The Piazza di Spagna, Rome
The Keats-Shelley House is the pink building on the
right.
The Keats-Shelley Memorial House is one of my favorite stops in
Rome. Along with a visit to Keats's gravesite at
the
Protestant cemetery, it's the perfect place to explore his
life and work.
At this page, I am providing information about the exhibits and hours
of operation.
If you would like to visit the official website, please click here.
Exhibits
The Keats-Shelley Memorial House contains a lock of Keats's hair, his
death mask, original letters, and various other mementos.
It also contains mementoes of Keats's Romantic brethren, Lord Byron and
Percy Shelley. For example, there is a carnival mask Byron
bought in Venice, a bust of Shelley, fragments of Shelley's bones, and
various paintings, letters and books. There is also a library of
various Romantic-related works.
First and foremost, though, it is the house in which Keats
died.
Piazza di Spagna remains much as it was in 1821; you can look out of
Keats's window and replace the throngs of 20th century tourists and
scooters with throngs of 19th century tourists and horses.
In Keats's time, this was Rome's main hotel district and the second
home of foreign visitors. Now the
Piazza di Spagna area is considered one of the most beautiful
areas in Rome (no mean feat in such an extraordinary city!)
Hours of Operation
The house at 26 Piazza di Spagna was bought in 1906 by an
Anglo-American group, led by the great Theodore Roosevelt.
Because of
their generosity, it is preserved as a memorial and library.
It is open at the following times:
Monday - Friday, 9:00 am to 1:00 pm; 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm; Saturday,
11:00 am to 2:00 pm and 3:00pm to 6:00 pm.
From October to March, winter hours are in effect. You may
want to email or call ahead for any changes.
There is an admission charge of €2.60.
The telephone number is 39/6/678 4235.
Transportation to the Memorial House
If you want to take the bus to visit the area,
ride the 119.
If you want to take Metro, get off at the
Spagna stop.
A note on transportation: I highly recommend walking to the
Memorial House. Even if you visit Rome in the colder months, it
is worthwhile walking across the city. For example, the cheapest
hotels in Rome are near the Termini train station at the
opposite end of the city from the Vatican. Yet you can walk from
Termini to the Vatican easily - it is roughly four miles.
And, of course, you'll pass many extraordinary sights along the
way! Fountains by Bernini, beautiful buildings, small museums,
interesting shops, a nice (and uncrowded) cafe.... These are best
found traveling on foot. Believe me, four miles passes by very
quickly when you have such beautiful scenery.
As for Rome's Metro system, it was begun by Mussolini but never achieved his grand design. The reason? While digging the lines, workers stumbled upon various artifacts. Work would be stopped, excavations begun, and often the line completely abandoned. For that reason, the line has few stops. But since Rome can be crossed so quickly on foot, that hardly matters. Take the Metro if it's raining; but if it's a beautiful day, explore the old-fashioned way. Here's some perspective - the Piazza di Spagna is just a mile and a half from the Coliseum.
Another Keats-related place to visit at Piazza di Spagna:
CAFFE GRECO
Via Condotti 86
Open Monday through Saturday, 8:00 am - 8:45 pm
Telephone: 679 17 00
Opened in 1760 by a Greek, this cafe became a favorite haunt of
foreign artists. Byron, Keats, and the German romantic Goethe ate
here - along with Casanova, the infamous King Ludwig, and the composers
Liszt, Wagner, and Bizet. It's pretentious, expensive, and often
crowded but worth a quick stop for the history alone. You can
either stand
in the foyer or eat in the back room.
If you want to visit the Memorial House after a visit to Caffe Greco,
proceed along the Via Condotti. The house is directly to the
right of the Spanish Steps.
Keats is buried in Rome, at the
beautiful
Protestant cemetery.
Please click here for
further information.