In November 1820, the English poet John Keats, who was dying of tuberculosis, came to Rome at the urging of friends and doctors who hoped that the warmer climate might improve his health.

[1] The walls were initially scraped and all things remaining in the room immediately burned (in accordance with the health laws of 19th century Rome) following the poet's death.

[2] The effort to purchase and restore the two-room apartment in which Keats spent his final days began in 1903 at the instigation of the American poet Robert Underwood Johnson.

[3] Assisted by interested parties representing America, England, and Italy, the house was purchased late in 1906 and dedicated in April 1909 for use by the Keats–Shelley Memorial Association.

During World War II, the Keats–Shelley House went "underground", especially after 1943, in order to preserve its invaluable contents from falling into the hands of, and most likely being deliberately destroyed by, Nazi Germany.