'The moments of greatest tension in the markets have passed,' he says. He started out life intending to be a naval officer, a natural profession for someone born in the port of Livorno.
They also have summer houses north of Rome near each other. Mr Ciampi had hoped, like many from his native Livorno, to pursue a naval career.
The last, sad act in the drama has been well documented: Shelley, a non-swimmer, drowned in August 1822 after an unexpected squall hit the schooner Ariel during a return trip from a visit to Byron at Livorno.
The deal includes a 35 per cent interest in the Livorno gas import terminal. Liquipibigas, based in Milan, owns and operates the second-largest liquefied petroleum gas distribution network in Italy with 25 storage and bottling facilities.