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Thank you for the whole story. NOW that I see it I remember it (I guess I mean recollect). I had forgotten about the wholes in the tomb, among other parts of the story. Glad they hid the "remains" during the Napoleonic era or they've ended up in Paris. Afterall, some French scholars claim that Dante wanted to write the Commedia in French!! Robert > -----Original Message----- > From: Armour P [SMTP:[log in to unmask]] > Sent: Friday, July 30, 1999 11:15 AM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: RE: Italy Library Finds Dante Ashes > > Like Roberto, I too have read this information but cannot remember the > source. However, the main source concerning Dante's tomb is in Corrado > Ricci, L'ultimo rifugio di Dante (Milan, 1891; 2nd edn, Hoepli, 1921). The > generally accepted lines of the story (from Boccaccio onwards) are strange > enough, as those interested may see from the following partial summary, > which I have taken from R. T. Holbrook, Portraits of Dante from Giotto to > Raffael (London, etc., 1911), chaps III and V, and Gianandrea Piccioli, > 'Le > ossa di Dante e la Sacra Accademia Medicea', Annali dell'Istituto di Studi > Danteschi (Pubblicazioni dell'Universita' Cattolica del Sacro Cuore), I > (1967), 453-65: > 1321 Guido Novello da Polenta gave Dante provisional burial in a > sarcophagus > near the entrance to S. Francesco (as the church is now called); Guido's > exile prevented the construction of anything more permanent. > 1329 Cardinal Bertrando del Poggetto, having consigned the Monarchia to > the > flames, wanted to do the same to its writer's remains, but they were > hidden > from him. > From as early as 1396, then in 1432 (Filelfo), and at the time of Lorenzo > il > Magnifico, the Florentines planned to acquire the remains for burial in > the > Duomo or, later, S. Giovanni (so fulfilling Dante's 'prophecy' in Paradiso > XXV). > Lorenzo negotiated with Bernardo Bembo (Pietro's father) who, however, in > 1483, paid for the construction of the monument 'quasi a far polemicamente > intendere l'inamovibilita' di Dante' (Piccioli, p. 457). (The monument was > restored in the 17th and 18th cents.) > With the passage of Ravenna to the Stato Pontificio and the accession of > Leo > X, there were renewed efforts to return Dante to Florence, and > Michelangelo > was prepared to execute the tomb. But when Florentine agents opened the > sarcophagus, they found only some dust and withered laurel leaves. The > friars, apparently, had bored a hole into the tomb and extracted the bones > through it. > 1677 Fra Antonio Santi authenticated and sealed the bones in a wooden box. > 1865 Builders discovered the box hidden in the convent wall. Piccioli > suggests it may have been hidden there in 1810, during the Napoleonic > occupation. The bones were examined by a Commission; several were missing > (Holbrook, with his interest in portraits, particularly regrets the loss > of > the jawbone). > > Quite what Pazzi took out of the tomb in 1865 is not known, perhaps only > some of the dust that the Florentines had found there 350 years earlier. > Anyway, it is rather ironical that the library in Florence then lost it. > > Such seems to have been the fate of the remains of 'quelle membra' that > Dante says travelled with him through the afterlife (Purg. V, 47). Perhaps > the truth will never be known until the day when 'ciascun rivedera' la > trista tomba; / ripigliera' sua carne e sua figura' (Inf. VI, 97-98). > > Meanwhile, requiescat in pace. At least, at each end of the street leading > to the momument is a notice reading TOMBA DI DANTE ZONA DI SILENZIO. > > Peter Armour > > > ---------- > > From: COLASACCO, ROBERT[SMTP:[log in to unmask]] > > Reply To: [log in to unmask] > > Sent: 21 July 1999 13:47 > > To: [log in to unmask] > > Subject: RE: Italy Library Finds Dante Ashes > > > > As I've read, no one is even sure if the remains in the tomb in Ravenna > > are, > > in fact, Dante's. The remains had been buried, to my recollection, > > originally without a marker and quite some time had passed when they > were > > to > > be moved to the current church but no one was sure if the remains they > > found > > were Dante's. Now this is all vague in my head now because I read this a > > number of years ago and I can't remember all the details nor can I cite > a > > reference. > > Robert Colasacco > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: MRS J A RAWSON [SMTP:[log in to unmask]] > > > Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 1999 7:32 AM > > > To: [log in to unmask] > > > Subject: Re: Italy Library Finds Dante Ashes > > > > > > How can they be ashes anyway? Was anybody cremated at that time? > > > Judy Rawson. > > %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%