Casa Guidi

The parlor at Casa Guidi.

The Brownings' home in Florence for a few short, happy years

Casa Guidi, where Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning lived in Florence.

The Casa Guidi is the Florence home where from 1847 English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning lived with her husband, Robert, moving in just after their secret marriage.

When the unification of Italy became official in Florence, Elizabeth recorded the momentous event in a famous poem, "Casa Guidi Windows":

I heard last night a little child go singing

'Neath Casa Guidi windows, by the church

O bella libertà, O bella!

(It's a really long poem; you can read the full text here.)

Mrs. Browning died in this house on June 18, 1861. She is buried in Florence's Cimiteri degli Inglesi (English Cemetery).

Touring Casa Guidi—and renting it as your own Florentine flat

Restored by New York's The Browning Society, the Casa Guidi is now owned by Eton College and admnistered by Britian's Landmark Trust.

You can tour Casa Guidi some weekday afternoons April to November—as well as rent it out as an apartment sleeping 2–4 poeple. There is a four-night minimum, and rates start at £1,025 ($1,525) for 4 nights.

That might sound like a lot, but it really works out to the equivalent of around $190 per double room per night (if you are comparing it to booking two hotel rooms for four people).

For more info: www.landmarktrust.org.uk .

Tips & links

Details

ADDRESS

Piazza di San Felice 8
tel. +39-055-354-457
www.browningsociety.org/casa_guidi.html

OPEN

Apr-Nov: Mon, Wed, Fri 3–6pm

ADMISSION

Donation appreciated

TRANSPORT

Bus: C3, D
Hop-on/hop-off: Frescobaldi (A)

How long does Casa Guidi take?

Planning your day: You have to be a devoted Browngin fan to visit, so expect to spend 45–60 minutes at the Casa Guidi (assuming you don't actually book the flat to stay here).

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