Giuseppe’s undergraduate studies in English Literature, along with the excellent teaching he received at the University of Edinburgh, continue to inspire him to this day as he enjoys a successful career in museums and heritage.

Name: Dr Giuseppe Albano, MBE

Degree course: MA English Literature (First Class Honours)

Year of graduation: 1998

At the moment

What is your current role, and how did you get there?

I am currently Director of Trent Park House of Secrets, a landmark new museum and heritage attraction set to open in north London in 2026 in the former home of Sir Philip Sassoon, the art collector, aesthete and politician whose glamorous parties played host to leading figures of the age including Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin, and T. E. Lawrence. After Sassoon’s death in 1939, the House was requisitioned by the British government and became a centre for intelligence operations during the Second World War.

Prior to taking up this role I served as Director of the Freud Museum in London, the final home of the founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud after he fled Nazi-occupied Vienna, and before that of the Keats-Shelley House in Rome, a museum dedicated to the second-generation English Romantic poets who lived in and were inspired by Italy, and housed in the final home of John Keats. Earlier in my career I worked as Librarian at Hawthornden Castle, Midlothian, the former home of the seventeenth-century poet William Drummond of Hawthornden and today an international retreat for writers.

What inspired your interest in this field?

Studying English Literature at the University of Edinburgh – with its exceptional teaching, rich library collections, and an ethos that encouraged independent reading and thought – sparked a lasting fascination with the places that inspired writers and the settings in which they lived and worked. To this day my passion for museums and cultural heritage can be traced all the way back to my love of literature as an undergraduate at Edinburgh, a city that has been at the heart of centuries of Scottish intellectual history. My formative years laid the foundation for a lifelong interest in how people, places, and stories are preserved and interpreted, an interest that continues to inspire my work today.

Career journey

What were some key milestones in your career journey?

After completing a Masters at York and writing a PhD thesis on Victorian pastoral poetry at Cambridge University I was fortunate to return to Edinburgh as a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities. During this time, I became increasingly interested in how literary and cultural heritage can be shared with wider audiences beyond academia, which set the course for the next stage of my career.

After leaving Edinburgh University for a second time, I went on to create a library for prisoners at the newly established His Majesty’s Prison (HMP) Addiewell in West Lothian, Scotland’s first learning prison, where I also developed a programme of classes in literature, creative writing, and languages. I then took up the post of Librarian at Hawthornden Castle, where I oversaw the creation of a new library in the grounds of the estate for writers in residence. This latter experience gave me the bug for working in historic houses and I decided to build a career in this field. To help me on my way I enrolled on a Postgraduate Diploma in Museum Studies from Leicester University.

I went on to serve as Curator and Director of the Keats-Shelley House in Rome, where I led the museum’s vision, strategic planning and fundraising, expanded its collections, and oversaw capital and restoration projects, including the final phase of the Centenary Appeal and the international Keats-Shelley200 campaign. From there I became Director of the Freud Museum in London, where I oversaw operations, curatorial direction and fundraising, leading the transformation of the Museum’s learning and exhibition spaces and expanding its public programmes and membership. I have also served on the committees of the Charles Dickens Museum in London, contributing to strategic decisions on the care and development of its collections, and of the Associazione Nazionale Case della Memoria, an association of Italian historic house museums, where I coordinated initiatives across Rome and Lazio to foster collaboration between museums and attract new audiences. I am now Director of Trent Park House of Secrets in north London, where I lead the development and delivery of the museum’s vision, organisational strategy and operations ahead of its opening in 2026.

This progression – from studying literature, to creating libraries, to curating and running historic house museums with literary-historical and biographical associations, and now to leading the creation of a major new museum and heritage site at Trent Park House of Secrets – has been the thread running through my professional life.

How did your time at the University shape your professional path?

My time at the University of Edinburgh gave me a grounding in rigorous scholarship and a lifelong love of literature. Just as importantly, it gave me the chance to exchange ideas in a vibrant, global community where knowledge was shared generously and debated with conviction. Edinburgh has always stressed the importance of independent thinking as well as collaborative research; it has never been the place for those content simply to learn the ‘right answers’ in order to pass their degree. That ethos gave me a great start, encouraging me to take chances in my career and to pursue opportunities with confidence and imagination.

Can you share a standout achievement or moment you’re proud of?

Leading the Keats-Shelley200 campaign from the Keats-Shelley House in Rome during Covid was an exhilarating experience. This two-year programme of events, exhibitions and fundraising initiatives marked the bicentenaries of the deaths of John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley in Italy and celebrated their extraordinary legacies. Unfortunately the launch coincided with the first lockdowns, which meant redesigning the entire programme almost overnight into a predominantly digital enterprise. What could have been a disaster became a thrilling opportunity; through virtual audience-participatory tours and immersive events, films and storytelling, we brought people into the House and connected audiences worldwide at a time when they could not physically travel to Rome. Collaborators from across the world joined us in ways that would never have been possible had we stuck solely with our original programme. Once restrictions eased, we were able to resume many of the live events we had originally planned, while also leaving behind a rich and enduring digital archive of resources, performances and stories that continue to be accessed and enjoyed by audiences.

Industry insights

What are the biggest challenges and opportunities in your field right now?

The challenges are stark, particularly sustaining funding in a highly competitive environment and broadening access while protecting vulnerable historic sites and collections. Yet the opportunities are exciting. Museums can now reach audiences on a scale never imagined before through global partnerships and the intelligent use of new technologies. At their best, today’s museums embody the spirit of the classical mouseion, or seat of the Muses, where art, science and learning flourish together for the benefit of all.

Another exciting development has been the collaboration with universities through Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships, which facilitate advanced academic research and nurture the next generation of talent across museums, heritage and the cultural sector.

What trends or innovations are shaping the future of your industry?

Some of the most interesting trends are audience-focused. Co-curation with communities now plays an important  role, with audiences directly involved in shaping exhibitions and projects — from contributing ideas for themes to helping select objects for display and interpretive approaches. This makes museums more inclusive, as they can incorporate the perspectives of the communities they serve. At the same time, museums and cultural institutions are becoming more data-driven, using membership and visitor insights to shape programming and deepen engagement. Alongside this, technological advancements and new forms of digital storytelling are transforming the way people experience and connect with history.

Alumni wisdom

What do you wish you had known at the start of your career?

That success depends as much on diplomacy, adaptability and sound financial management as it does on academic knowledge or curatorial skill. Ideas only take root if you can bring people with you, manage resources effectively, and adapt when circumstances change. In the heritage world, leadership and communication carry equal weight with scholarship: working with trustees, colleagues, funders and audiences requires the ability to listen, persuade and negotiate.

What advice would you give to students or alumni looking to enter your field?

Build your skill set and pursue a wide range of experiences. Don’t wait until you have everything figured out – just get started. If you decide you want to work in museums, throw yourself into it – volunteer, give guided tours, and immerse yourself in museums and heritage sites to gain as much hands-on experience as possible. Along the way, take every opportunity to learn from colleagues. This is a sector built on collaboration and exchange, and those early experiences will give you both the confidence and the practical knowledge to grow.

Are there any books, podcasts, or resources that have influenced you? 

One book I discovered just as I was setting my heart on a career in historic house museums was Rosanna Pavoni’s House Museums in Italy: New Cultural Itineraries. This gem of a book inspired me with its methodology and breadth of vision at exactly the moment I was deciding the direction of my professional life.

Over the years I have also found the resources produced by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) invaluable, particularly their policy papers, professional networks and international conferences, which provide a forum for exchanging ideas, building connections and sharing best practice across the museum and heritage community.

More

🔗 School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures

🔗 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours for alumni and staff

🔗 Trent Park House of Secrets (external)

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