On the trail of Lord Byron in Venice

The famous English poet George Gordon (Lord Byron 1788-1824) lived for a time in Venice when he was forced to leave England for his debts and too many sex scandals.

Many places in Venice are related to him, such as the Mocenigo Palace on the Grand Canal, where Byron lived from 1816 to 1819, with 14 servants, 2 monkeys, a fox and two mastiff dogs and where he composed the first songs of Don Juan.

Querini Benzon Palace still on the Grand Canal, he met his last love, the eighteen year old Teresa Gamba Guiccioli, wife of the rich sixty year old Alessandro Guiccioli from Ravenna.

The island of the Lido, where the great poet used to swim to visit the 'old Jewish Cemetery, the perfect place for his romantic spirit.

The Doge's Palace and the bridge which connects the Palace to the prisons. Whilst crossing the bridge he invented the name that made it famous all over the world, the bridge of Sighs, because of the sighs that those condemned would release on seeing Venice and freedom for the last time.

But probably the place in Venice which is more linked to the name of Lord Byron is the island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni, where he lived with a small community of monks.
Byron learned Armenian here and participated in the publication of an English-Armenian dictionary.

The memory of the great English poet is still alive in the community of monks and in fact in the small museum there is a room dedicated to him, with books that belonged to him and biographical texts.

On our website you can easily book a visit to the Doge's Palace, one of the most important buildings of Venice's history, where you will also be able to cross the bridge that now, thanks to Lord Byron, is worldwide known as the ‘Bridge of Sights'.