Lega Zambelli

Antonio Lega Zambelli (c. 1770—1847) was the poet Lord Byron's private secretary or 'segretario' from 1819 to Byron's death in 1824.

Life

Zambelli was born in 1770 at Brisighella, south west 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 househild was Francesca ‘Fanny’ Silvestrini, the family governess who became Teresa’s personal friend. Lega had been in holy orders but abandoned the priesthood in 1800 during the French occupation of Venice, but could not revoke his holy orders, so he and Fanny lived together unmarried.

In May 1824, just a month after Byron’s death, Fanny also died in her home town of Treviso, north of Venice, unknown to Lega who was still in Greece. Pietro Gamba, Teresa’s brother, told Lega of Fanny’s death. Aspasia was left with her mother’s family and stayed at school in Venice, eventually emigrating to London to join her father when she was eleven.

Returning to England with Byron’s corpse in July 1824, Zambelli and Byron's valet William Fletcher’s fates became linked when the two men set up a pasta manufacturing business together.[2] Fletcher's later life is a mystery but he was probably sent to debtors’ prison sometime in the mid to late 30’s. The business carried on and Zambelli (minus Fletcher) was still listed as a ‘maccaroni and vermicelli manufacturer’ at 14 Cromer Street in 1839 the year Fletcher died.

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

Legacy

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

Family

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

Aspasia married Fletcher's son, William Frederick, in 1838.[3] They had one child, a daughter, Clelia Mary who after her marriage styled herself as Clelia Lega-Weekes (1841-1924). 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

  1. ↑ Reiman, Donald H. (1986). Shelley and His Circle, 1773-1822. Harvard University Press. p. 506. ISBN 9780674806139. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  2. ↑ Lloyd-Jones, Ralph. "Fletcher, William". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/56026. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ↑ Knight, G. Wilson (2002-08-29). Byron and Shakespeare. Taylor & Francis. pp. 206 note. ISBN 9780415290807. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
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