Dante's Italy itinerary

Dante Alighieri is the father of the Italian language, and the Divine Comedy is a map of the Italy of his time: its cities, rivers, castles, quarrels and families. Following Dante means crossing Tuscany, Romagna and the Veneto, from the Florence where he was born, loved Beatrice and became a politician, to the cities of his exile, where he wrote the poem, to Ravenna, where he died and where his bones still rest, after a long contest with Florence.

This seven-day itinerary starts in Florence and ends in Verona: the poet's Florence, the Casentino of the battle of Campaldino and the castles of the Conti Guidi, Gradara, where tradition sets the story of Paolo and Francesca, Ravenna, with Dante's tomb and its Byzantine mosaics, and Verona, which welcomed him at the court of Cangrande della Scala. See also our page on Florence.

1. Florence: the poet's city
2. Poppi: the castle of the Conti Guidi
3. Romena: the castle and the Fonte Branda
4. Gradara: Paolo and Francesca
5. Ravenna: the tomb and the mosaics
6. Verona: the court of Cangrande

Dante in brief

Dante was born in Florence in 1265 into a family of minor nobility. At nine he met Beatrice Portinari, the woman who would become his guide in Paradise. As a young man he fought at Campaldino in 1289, then entered politics, but in 1302, during the struggle between Black and White Guelphs, he was exiled and sentenced to death if he returned. He never saw Florence again. He wandered among the courts of Italy, from the Malaspina of Lunigiana to the Scaligeri of Verona, and wrote the Comedy. He died in Ravenna in 1321. Florence asked for his remains back for centuries: in 1519 the Franciscans of Ravenna hid them, and they were found again only in 1865.

1. 1265Dante is born in Florence
2. 1289He fights at the battle of Campaldino
3. 1302He is exiled from Florence
4. 1306He is a guest of the Malaspina in Lunigiana
5. 1312-1318He lives at Cangrande's court in Verona
6. 1321He dies in Ravenna, having finished the Paradiso
7. 1865His bones are rediscovered in Ravenna

Day 1: Dante's Florence

Start at the Baptistery of San Giovanni, where Dante was baptised and which he called "my fair Saint John": see the Baptistery. Then walk the medieval streets of his neighbourhood, between the Duomo and Piazza della Signoria: the Casa di Dante museum, in a building reconstructed in the early 20th century near where his family's houses stood, the little church of Santa Margherita de' Cerchi, linked by tradition to Beatrice, and the Badia Fiorentina, whose bell marked the hours of his day. In the afternoon visit the Bargello, where a fresco in the chapel is thought to include the oldest portrait of Dante.

Where to stay: in Florence, for two nights.

Day 2: Santa Croce and the Duomo

In the basilica of Santa Croce stands Dante's cenotaph, an empty tomb built in 1829 for remains that Ravenna never returned, while outside, in the square, rises his 19th-century statue. In the Duomo, look for the 1465 painting by Domenico di Michelino showing Dante holding the Comedy, with Florence, Hell and the mountain of Purgatory behind him. In the evening, if you are lucky, you may catch a public reading of the Comedy, still held in Florence in several churches.

Day 3: the Casentino, Poppi and Romena

Drive east into the Casentino (about an hour), the upper Arno valley. On the plain of Campaldino, in 1289, the Florentine Guelphs defeated Arezzo's Ghibellines, with the young Dante among the cavalry; a column marks the spot. Poppi castle, seat of the Conti Guidi, where tradition says Dante stayed, dominates the valley with its courtyard and library. Nearby, the castle of Romena and the Fonte Branda recall Master Adam, the counterfeiter Dante put in Hell (Inferno XXX). Also nearby are the sanctuaries of Camaldoli and La Verna, both mentioned in the poem.

Where to stay: in Poppi or the Casentino.

Day 4: over the Apennines to Gradara

Cross the Apennines into Romagna and drive down to the Adriatic, to Gradara (about two and a half hours), a castle with a perfectly preserved ring of walls. Tradition sets here the story of Paolo and Francesca, the lovers killed by Francesca's husband, Gianciotto Malatesta, whom Dante placed in the second circle of Hell in one of the poem's most famous cantos (Inferno V). In the castle you can see the room said to be Francesca's. See Gradara. In the evening continue to Ravenna (about an hour and a quarter).

Where to stay: in Ravenna, for two nights.

Day 5: Ravenna and Dante's tomb

Ravenna is the city where Dante spent his last years as a guest of Guido Novello da Polenta. His small neoclassical tomb, built in the late 18th century, stands in the zona del silenzio, beside the church of San Francesco, where his funeral was held. A lamp burns inside, fuelled by oil that Florence sends every year. Next door are the Dante Museum and the garden where his bones were hidden for centuries. In the afternoon go to the basilica of San Vitale and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, whose starry ceiling may have inspired Dante's skies.

Day 6: Ravenna's mosaics and Sant'Apollinare in Classe

Finish the mosaics: Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, with its processions of saints and virgins, and, five kilometres out of town, Sant'Apollinare in Classe, in the middle of the pine forest Dante describes at the top of Purgatory. If you can, walk or cycle in the Pineta di Classe, the "divine forest" of Purgatorio XXVIII.

Day 7: Verona and Cangrande

Head to Verona (about two and a half hours by car or train), where Dante lived for several years at the court of Cangrande della Scala, to whom he dedicated the Paradiso. In Piazza dei Signori his statue, erected in 1865 for the sixth centenary of his birth, looks towards the palaces of the Scaligeri. Beside the square stand the Gothic Scaliger tombs, with the equestrian statue of Cangrande. Then walk to the Arena before your flight or train home.

How much it costs

Accommodation480 €

Meals275 €

Car or train160 €

Admissions90 €

Ravenna combined ticket12 €

Santa Croce10 €

Bargello10 €

Casa di Dante8 €

Gradara castle8 €

Poppi castle8 €

To save money: Ravenna has a combined ticket for its main mosaic monuments, and Florence's state museums are free on the first Sunday of the month. Pick up the car only when you leave Florence: driving in the centre is restricted. See getting around Italy.

Practical information

• Florence: the centre is a limited-traffic zone (ZTL); don't drive into it without a permit, fines are automatic.
• Bookings: book Santa Croce and the Bargello online in high season; in Ravenna you can usually buy tickets on the spot.
• Readings: in September Ravenna celebrates the anniversary of Dante's death with readings and events; 25 March, the day the journey of the Comedy is said to begin, is celebrated as Dante Day.
• The text: bring a copy of the Comedy, ideally bilingual: reading the cantos in the places they describe is the point of the trip.

Variations

• Lunigiana: the castle of Fosdinovo and the Malaspina lands, where Dante was a guest in 1306.
• Rimini and Santarcangelo: other places that claim the story of Paolo and Francesca; see Rimini.
• The Casentino on foot: the paths between Camaldoli, La Verna and the Arno springs on Monte Falterona.

What to read before you go

The Divine Comedy in a good annotated edition, Dante's Vita Nuova, the book of his love for Beatrice, and a recent biography of the poet. See also Italy's art cities.

Final tips

• Pace: alternate days of reading and museums with drives through the countryside; Dante is best enjoyed slowly.
• Combinations: from the Casentino you can link up with the pilgrim ways itinerary and La Verna, from Verona with the Verdi and opera itinerary.
• A tip: read canto V of the Inferno aloud in Gradara castle, and the last canto of the Paradiso in front of the tomb in Ravenna.