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Lega Zambelli

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Antonio Lega Zambelli (c. 1770—1847) was segretario or private secretary to Lord Byron from 1819 to 1824, when Byron died.

Life

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Zambelli was born in 1770 at Brisighella, in the province of Ravenna, and was educated for the priesthood.[1] He entered the service of Count Guiccioli around 1815. It was Guiccioli's young wife Teresa, Contessa Guiccioli (née Gamba), who became Byron's last (female) long-standing lover. Also in the Guiccioli household was Francesca Silvestrini, the family governess who became Teresa's personal friend.

Lega Zambelli died in the shared house of his daughter and son-in-law, in 1847.

Legacy

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Doris Langley-Moore used the Zambelli papers as the basis of her book, Lord Byron Accounts Rendered.

Family

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Fanny Silvestrini bore Zambelli two children, but only Aspasia Zambelli (1817-1890) survived.

Aspasia married William Fletcher's son, William Frederick, in 1838.[2] Their daughter, Clelia Mary, styled herself as Clelia Lega-Weekes after her marriage. Her daughter, Ethel Lega-Weekes (1864-1949) donated many family papers to the British Library, including Lega Zambelli's papers. In this multi-volumed set are many interesting documents relating to Byron's last five years.

Notes

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  1. ^ Reiman, Donald H. (1986). Shelley and His Circle, 1773-1822. Harvard University Press. p. 506. ISBN 9780674806139. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  2. ^ Knight, G. Wilson (2002-08-29). Byron and Shakespeare. Taylor & Francis. pp. 206 note. ISBN 9780415290807. Retrieved 16 June 2017.