Biography of two english writers in rome

An obscure map in the Keats-Shelley House inspires a cultural pilgrimage to places in Rome where American, British and Irish writers and artists stayed in the 19th century.

Rome's Keats-Shelley House hosts a mysterious watercolour map on its steep, narrow stairwell where it is believed to have rested since the museum's opening in 1909.

Painted by an unknown artist, the map depicts the area surrounding Piazza di Spagna, using blue motifs with calligraphy to indicate where visiting British and American writers and artists stayed during the 19th century.

By this time the network of streets around the Spanish Steps was already known as the “English ghetto" due to its popularity among wealthy British travellers who would conclude their grand tours of Europe in Rome.

The map contains around two dozen names – many of whose paths crossed – with several buildings hosting plaques boasting of their illustrious