Hello everyone!
I apologize for my lack of updating. I thought I’d have more time while over here, but I’ve been on the go most days and keeping up with class work while studying abroad in Rome. I just wanted to take time and write to you a little bit about some of the places I’ve gotten a chance to see–specifically the graves of Keats and Percy Shelley. As a writer and an English major, I was very excited to see this particular site in Rome. I stumbled upon the graveyard in a guidebook and when I found out it was right by the metro stop on my way to school I knew I had to go!
Keats and Shelley are wonderful writers whom I’ve encountered through my studies. They are buried in the Protestant Cemetery in Rome near the Piramide metro stop. The graveyard has become one of my favorite places that I have visited so far! The cemetery is so peaceful and you feel like you’ve left the city when you enter. The grounds are filled with beautiful
Here is Keats grave (on right) and his friend John Severn (on left)
gravestones and statues that range in age from old to very recent. Mixing in the beautiful green landscape and the cemetery turns into a peaceful escape that lends inspiration for any writer. The people who work the gift shop are so nice and the entrance fee is by donation only (although they suggest a 3 eruo minimum). If you have
This is Percy Shelley’s grave.
a chance to go to Rome and you want to see something beautiful, I highly suggest the Protestant Cemetery. Even if Keats and Shelley were not buried there, the cemetery is still something I would recommend seeing!
“It might make one in love with death, to be buried in so sweet a place.” –Shelley.
The cemetery itself is also filled with multiple artists and writers beside the two famous British writers. Along with this, the statues that adorn the cemetery inspire artists and writers in themselves. The statues are beautifully sculpted. Even some tombs have ornate decorations that are breath-taking. My favorite statue/gravestone I came upon was the “Angel of Grief” monument that was made by the American sculptor and poet W. W. Story. Story and his wife are buried there. According to the guidebook that I bought from the Protestant Cemetery, there is a replica of the monument at Stanford University in California that is dedicated to the memory of the victims of the earthquake in 1906.
Here is the “Angel of Grief” monument in the Protestant Cemetery
The cemetery also has some distinguished persons from Italy, Russia, and other countries.
In the end I could go on and on about the cemetery. I fully plan on going back before my trip ends to sit and write there. I felt very at home there which is weird, I know, since it is a cemetery. However, I felt so peaceful there. Anyway, if you get the chance to see it, please go and see it.
Happy Traveling!
xo,
NicoleLynn
Have you been to the Protestant Cemetery? What are your inspirational places to write? Leave your answers below in the comments!
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