Famous People Past & Present

Giorgio Caproni Centenary

Giorgio Caproni Centenary: poster design by Anna Laura BachiniGiorgio Caproni Centenary: poster design by Anna Laura Bachini

 

Livorno commemorates the life of poet Giorgio Caproni a hundred years after his birth in the city

Giorgio Caproni was born in Livorno on 7th January 1912, and died in Rome on 22nd January 1990. He was a poet - one of the most prominent of his time in Italy - , literary critic and translator. Although he spent most of his life in Rome, Caproni wrote about his birthplace, Livorno, in several of his poems. In 1949 he returned to Livorno to look for his grandparents' graves and rediscovered a love of the town of his early years.

Byron and Shelley in Livorno

Two English Poets in Livorno in the 19th Century 

Via Giorgio Byron, the Road named after Byron in Montenero, LivornoVia Giorgio Byron, the Road named after Byron in Montenero, LivornoGeorge Gordon Byron (London 1788 - Missolunghi 1824) spent the winter of 1822 in Pisa, in Palazzo Lanfranchi on the Lungarno, where the Shelleys also spent that winter.

In early April 1822 he came to Montenero with Count and Countess Gamba, staying in Villa Dupouy, owned by the banker Francesco Dupouy. On the 2 July they returned to Pisa.

While in Livorno Byron received a message in verse from Goethe (to whom Byron had dedicatd his tragedy Werner). He had it translated by Enrico Mayer, then only 20 years old, and answered saying that he was about to embark for Greece to help in the battle for freedom. He did so aboard the Ercole.
In 1900 the road in Montenero, Via Giorgio Byron, was named after him, commemorating his short stay in Livorno.

How to find Villa Valsovano, Shelley's home in Livorno in 1819

Villa Valsovano, Shelley's home in Livorno 1819: As seen from Via VenutiVilla Valsovano, Shelley's home in Livorno 1819: As seen from Via VenutiThe Villa Valsovano, where the English writer Percy Bysshe Shelley stayed in the summer of 1819, is not easy to find since it is listed in many places as being in Via del Fagiano which is where the original entrance to the villa was.

However, to see the villa these days you have to go to Via Filippo Venuti, near Livorno's hospital, about 20 minutes' walk from the city centre.

Paolo Virzì, Film Director

Paolo Virzì (right) in conversation with comedian Paolo Ruffini, at Effetto Venezia, LivornoPaolo Virzì (right) in conversation with comedian Paolo Ruffini, at Effetto Venezia, LivornoPaolo Virzì was born in Livorno on 4th March 1964. He spent his early years in Turin, Piedmont, but grew up in the Sorgenti district of Livorno.

Having studied Literature and Philosophy for a time at the University of Pisa, Virzì moved to Rome where he frequented the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. It was here that he met Furio Scarpelli, a teacher at the school, who became his mentor and collaborator.

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