Este
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| In
August 1818,
Shelley and
Claire Clairmont
left Bagni
di Lucca
and traveled
to Venice;
they hoped
to be able
to convince
Byron to
give Claire
some sort
of regular
access to
her daughter
Allegra.
Byron would
not see Claire,
but agreed
to permit
Allegra to
spend some
time with
her mother
at his villa
just outside
of Este,
a tiny town
southwest
of Venice.
Shelley,
Claire, Allegra,
and the Swiss
nurse Elise
traveled
to I Capuccini,
named for
the Capuchin
monastery
which once
stood there.
Shelley sent
a message
to Mary at
Casa Bertini,
demanding
that she
and the children
leave at
once for Este.
Although
five grueling
days of travel
in the heat
of an Italian
August was
obviously
not the best
thing for
small children
(especially
little Clara,
who was suffering
from a fever),
Shelley was
adamant.
It was a tragic
inflexibility
on his part;
the trip
either significantly
contributed
to or caused
his daughter's
death. |
| Capuccini is situated just east of the town on route 10,
behind a ruined castle. The place is constructed rather
like a fortress, with only a single rather grim facade (the
rear of the estate and the stables) visible from the highway.
A short driveway permits only a very limited view of the
front of the house. |
|
|
| The current owners were unavailable, so it seemed we would
have to settle for this extremely restricted view of the
property. Then we noticed a tiny public road at the side
of the villa. Feeling like architectural paparazzi, we negotiated
the path, then climbed over a railroad trestle in the rain
(praying that the local express train wasn’t due at any
time soon, and that the skull and crossbones images prominently
stenciled on the electrical conduits we clung to weren't
really serious). |
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| The view was worth the effort: before us lay spread the
impressive house and its lovely gardens. |
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