Casa Carducci

As I mentioned in the previous footprint, the Museo Civico del Risorgimento is housed on the ground floor of Casa Carducci. On the first floor above, is the apartment where the Carducci family lived.

Before leaving the museum, I asked if I could take a look at the apartment … included in my free admission. No problem. With another explanatory booklet in hand, I was escorted upstairs by one of the employees.

Casa Carducci dates back to the 16th century. It was built as a church, and before that, as an oratory. In 1712, the place of worship was destroyed by a fire and subsequently rebuilt. Following the Napoleonic occupation at the end of the 18th century, it was sold to wealthy merchants, who expanded the building. The house owes its current form to that expansion work. Carducci and his wife lived here from 1890 to 1907, when Giosuè died.

Carducci’s book collection is behind glass-fronted bookcases, but everything else in the apartment is out in the open. No surprise then that the escort dogged my footsteps from room to room. She had her own booklet and used it to identify and read about the many objects on display, while I did the same … taking time to photograph some of the items … including the Nobel certificate Carducci received for literature … the news of which was given to him in the study by the Swedish Ambassador.

While there is electricity in the apartment, the light is dim. It made taking photos challenging, but I managed to click the shutter on the phone enough times to have a collection of images to share here.Read more