The tomb of the Supreme Poet
Dante Alighieri, the father of the Italian language and author of the Divine Comedy, was exiled from his native Florence in 1302 and spent the last years of his life in Ravenna, a guest of the lord of the city, Guido Novello da Polenta, where he completed the Paradiso. He died here in September 1321, and was buried in the cloister of the Franciscan church of San Francesco. In the following centuries, Florence repeatedly asked for the return of the poet's remains, but Ravenna always refused: in 1519, when Pope Leo X, a Medici, authorised their transfer, the Florentine envoys found the sarcophagus empty, because the Franciscan friars had secretly removed the bones and hidden them in the convent.
The present tomb, a small neoclassical temple with a dome, was built in 1780-1781 by the architect Camillo Morigia; inside, under a bas-relief of the fifteenth century depicting Dante reading, lies the Roman sarcophagus with the remains. The hidden bones were found by chance only in 1865, during work on the convent, in a wooden box with an inscription of the friars, and returned to the tomb. A votive lamp hangs inside, fuelled by olive oil from the hills of Tuscany, offered every year by the city of Florence on the second Sunday of September, the anniversary of his death, in a gesture of reconciliation. The area around the tomb, including the cloisters and the Quadrarco di Braccioforte, is called the "Zona del Silenzio", the zone of silence. Nearby, the Museo Dantesco tells the story of the poet's remains.
Tip: the tomb can be visited free of charge; in September, the city hosts readings and events for the Dante celebrations.
Where it is
More things to see in Emilia-Romagna
Where to stay near Ravenna
Tours and activities nearby
Offers from GetYourGuide. Some links are affiliate links: if you book we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.