Casa Guidi is a

writer's house museum Writers' homes (sometimes writer's, author's or literary houses) are locations where writers lived. Frequently, these homes are preserved as historic house museums and literary tourism destinations, called writer's home museums, especially when t ...

in the 15th-century patrician house in Piazza San Felice, 8, near the south end of the

Pitti Palace The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The '' piano nobile'' apartment was inhabited by

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

and Elizabeth Barrett Browning between 1847 and Mrs Browning's death in 1861. Their only child,

Robert Barrett Browning Robert Wiedeman Barrett Browning, known as Pen Browning, (9 March 1849 – 8 July 1912) was an English painter. His career was moderately successful, but he is better known as the son and heir of the celebrated English poets Robert Browning and ...

(known as Pen) was born there in 1849. Casa Guidi was the subject of her 1851 poem "''Casa Guidi Windows''". The Browning household was a centre of

British society English society comprises the group behaviour of the English people, and of collective social interactions, organisation and political attitudes in England. The social history of England evidences many social and societal changes over the histo ...

in Florence although it was said that

Theodosia Trollope Theodosia Trollope (née Garrow; 1816–1865) was an English poet, translator, and writer known also for her marriage into the Trollope family. She married and bought a villa in Florence, Italy with her husband, Thomas Adolphus Trollope. Her ho ...

's house was more care free. There was no animosity however and the Trollope's daughter played with the Browning's son

, known as Pen. After Pen's death in 1912 the apartment was bought by several Browning enthusiasts. By that time, Casa Guidi was in poor shape, and the apartment retained hardly any furniture or paintings. The

Browning Society Browning societies were groups who met to discuss the works of Robert Browning. Emerging from various reading groups, the societies indicated the poet's fame, and unusually were forming in his lifetime.Murray, H. (2002) ''Come, bright improvemen ...

in New York restored it, before giving it to

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

which undertook further work so that the building could be used as a study centre. Today, it is part of The

Eton College Collections The Eton College Collections are a collection of items of significant cultural or scientific value kept by Eton College in England. They include College Library, College Archives, Eton College Natural History Museum, Casa Guidi, Eton College ...

, but is administered by the

Landmark Trust The Landmark Trust is a British architectural conservation, building conservation charitable organization, charity, founded in 1965 by John Smith (Conservative politician), Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or ...

, who also look after the apartment above the one where John Keats died in Rome. When not being used by Eton boys, the property is available for holiday lets booked through the Landmark Trust.The Landmark Trust – Holiday at Casa Guidi
/ref> Casa Guidi is open to the public for 3:00–6:00 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from April to November. There is no admission fee, but donations are welcome.

References

External links

Casa Guidi
information from

Museums in Florence – Casa Guidi
{{authority control Year of establishment missing Historic house museums in Italy Landmark Trust properties in Italy Museums in Florence Literary museums in Italy Biographical museums in Italy Eton College