Pisa
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| As Richard Holmes points out in
Shelley: The Pursuit, Pisa "became the
nearest thing Shelley ever had to a home
anywhere since leaving Field Place" (575).
Pisa has since treated Shelley like an
adopted son, albeit a misplaced one: although
the Via Shelley (and Via Byron) can be found
here, neither poet ever lived anywhere near
them. Shelley and Byron preferred the
slightly decaying elegance of the
Lung’Arno, a collection of palaces,
plazas, upscale hotels, and mansions that
front both sides of the Arno River. |
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| The Albergo delle Tre Donzelle still
stands on the Plaza Garibaldi, where the
Ponte del Mezzo crosses the Arno. Shelley,
Mary, and Claire stayed here in May 1818,
when they enjoyed Pisan sights such as the
Leaning Tower and Baptistry (but found the
conditions of Italian convict street-workers
appalling); and for an overnight stay on
their journey from Livorno to Florence in
October 1919. |
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| In January 1820, Shelley returned to
Pisa, hoping to establish or find there: "a
society of our own class, as much as
possible, in intellect or in feeling." Pisa
was the logical spot, for, as he pointed out
to Mary, "Our roots were never struck so
deeply as at Pisa and the transplanted tree
flourishes not" (cited in Holmes 672). The
society would be formed primarily of writers,
with Shelley, Byron, and Leigh Hunt as the
guiding figures. During the last part of
October 1821, the Shelleys moved into the top
floor of the Tre Palazzi di Chiesa,
overlooking the Ponte Fortezza, on the
Lung'Arno Galileo Galilei (Mary filled the
place with potted plants). Later, Edward and
Jane Williams moved into the ground
floor. |
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| From their windows they could see
Byron’s Palazza Lanfranchi, on the
opposite side of the Lung'Arno (Lung'Arno
Mediceo). In August 1821, Shelley had
negotiated the lease on the marble palace as
part of his campaign to tempt Byron to Pisa.
Byron moved in in November, and immediately
implemented a manly regimen of riding,
shooting, gambling, and billiards. |
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| Byron and Shelley would meet at the front
gate before leaving for their daily
target-shooting practice: the discharge of
firearms was prohibited within the Pisan city
limits, so they were forced to ride outside
the city walls. They were often joined by
friends, among them Tom Medwin and Edward
Williams. |
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| We were unable to trace find Casa
Galetti, the winter apartment on the north
side of the river that the Shelleys occupied
during the winter of 1820; or Casa Aulla,
also on the Lung'Arno, where they moved in
March 1821; or Mrs. Mason's Casa Silva. |
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