Manzoni's Piedmont Villa Reopens as Museum After Renovation

Villa Stampa in Lesa, on Lake Maggiore, has reopened as a museum dedicated to Alessandro Manzoni after two months of renovations including roof and floor reconstruction and fireproofing. The 60-square-meter room houses letters, drawings, rare books, and editions such as the first edition of Leopardi's Canti, collected in two bookcases belonging to poet Giulio Carcano. Manzoni stayed here with his second wife Teresa Borri (widow Stampa) during the 1848 revolutions, fleeing Austrian repression in Milan. The collection will be cataloged and digitized over the coming years by volunteers led by Alberto Sormani. Currently open four hours a day, four days a week, it features documents like Manzoni's 1862 appointment as president of the Commission for the Unification of the Italian Language.