Dante’s death

Dante died in Ravenna between 13 and 14 September 1321, probably on account of malaria contracted while passing through the Comacchio marshland or in Venice itself, where he had gone on an ambassadorial mission on behalf of Guido Novello. His funeral ceremony and the reactions of poets and writers of the time to the news of his death are early evidence of the fame surrounding the man and his work, which soon turned him into a legendary figure.

As Giovanni Boccaccio recounts in his Trattatello, Guido Novello honoured the memory of his illustrious guest with funeral rites. Dante’s body was buried near the church of San Pier Maggiore (later renamed San Francesco) until such times as a worthy burial monument could be erected to him. On account of Guido Novello’s own exile, however, this did not materialize. Dante’s remains, repeatedly requested by the Florentines, were jealously guarded by the Franciscans. After a chance finding in 1865 on Dante’s centenary, his remains were transferred to the small neoclassical temple which had been built in 1782 next to the church of San Francesco.

The wish expressed by Guido to erect a monument commemorating Dante’s death may well have sparked off the spontaneous competition to compose an epitaph to be inscribed on Dante’s tombstone. Among the many Romagnoli poets of the time who took part were Giovanni del Virgilio, Rinaldo Cavalchini da Villafranca and Menghino Mezzani. Many vernacular poets of the time also expressed their regret at Dante’s death, and among those who composed obituary sonnets are the Florentine Pieraccio Tedaldi, Bosone da Gubbio in correspondence with Manuello Romano, and the Venetian Giovanni Quirini. To these should also be added Cino da Pistoia's song, Su per la costa, Amor, de l’alto monte, in which he expresses his sadness at the death of his old and famous friend.