Artifacts from Romantic poet Byron’s time in Italy to go on display

A museum in Italy will showcase mementos of British poet Lord Byron’s affair with a married Italian noblewoman — including peeled fragments of his sunburnt skin that she lovingly preserved.

Byron, one of the great Romantic poets and a serial philanderer, followed Countess Teresa Gamba Guicciolo to the northern city of Ravenna in 1819, residing in the home she shared with her husband, along with his pet monkeys and eagle.

The abandoned palazzo underwent a 10-year conversion and will now house art, books, and memorabilia with the hope of reviving tourists’ interest in Byron’s work and presence there, The Art Newspaper wrote. On display will be Gucciolo’s other keepsakes in devotion to their love story, like greying locks of Byron’s hair.