RAVENNA. DANTE'S TOMB. From a Drawing by Prout. "Ungrateful Florence! Dante sleeps afar, Childe Harold, c. iv. st. 57. "I pass each day where Dante's bones are laid : A little cupola, more neat than solemn, Protects his dust; but reverence here is paid To the bard's tomb, and not the warrior's column: The chieftain's trophy and the poet's volume,- Don Juan, c. iv. st. 104. "In the course of a visit to the city of Ravenna, in the summer of 1819, it was suggested to the author, that, having composed something on the subject of Tasso's confinement, he should do the same on Dante's exile the tomb of the poet forming one of the principal Preface to Byron's Prophecy of Dante. SOME of the following information is furnished from the notes to the " "Prophecy." "Dante Alighieri was born in Florence, in May 1265, of an ancient and honourable family. In the early part of his life he gained some credit in a military character, and distinguished himself by his bravery in an action where the Florentines obtained a signal victory over the citizens of Arezzo. He became still more eminent by the acquisition of court honours; and at the age of thirty-five he rose to be one of the chief magistrates of Florence, when that dignity was conferred by the suffrages of the people. From this exaltation the poet himself dated his principal misfortunes. Italy was at that time distracted by the contending factions of the Ghibelines and Guelphs, – among the latter Dante took an active part. In one of the proscriptions he was banished, his possessions confiscated, and he died in exile in 1321. Boccaccio thus describes his .' He was of and manners: person the middle stature, of a mild disposition, and, from the time he arrived at manhood, grave in his manner and deportment. His clothes were plain, and his dress RAVENNA. always conformable to his years. His face was long; his nose aquiline; his eyes rather large than otherwise. His complexion was dark, melancholy, and pensive. In his meals he was extremely moderate; in his manners most courteous and civil; and, both in public and private life, he was admirably decorous. "Dante died at Ravenna, in 1321, in the palace of his patron, Guido Novello da Polenta, who testified his sorrow and respect by the sumptuousness of his obsequies, and by giving orders to erect a monument, which he did not live to complete. His countrymen shewed, too late, that they knew the value of what they had lost. At the beginning of the next century, they entreated that the mortal remains of their illustrious citizen might be restored to them, and deposited among the tombs of their fathers. But the people of Ravenna were unwilling to part with the sad and honourable memorial of their own hospitality. No better success attended the subsequent negotiations of the Florentines for the same purpose, though renewed under the auspices of Leo X., and conducted through the powerful mediation of Michael Angelo. "Never did any poem rise so suddenly into notice, after the death of its author, as the Divina Commedia. About the year 1350, Giovanni Visconti, archbishop of Milan, selected six of the most learned men in Italy, -two divines, two philosophers, and two Florentines, -and gave them in charge to contribute their joint endeavours towards the compilation of an ample comment, a copy of which is preserved in the Laurentian library. At Florence, a public lecture was founded for the purpose of explaining a poem, which was at the same time the boast and the disgrace of the city. The decree for this institution was passed in 1373; and in that year Boccaccio was appointed, with a salary of a hundred florins, to deliver lectures in one of the churches on the first of their poets. The example of Florence was speedily followed by Bologna, Pisa, Piacenza, and Venice. It is only within a few years, that the merits of this great and original poet were attended to, and made known in this country. And this seems to be owing to a translation of the very pathetic story of Count Ugolino; to the judicious and spirited summary given of this poem in the 31st section of the History of English Poetry; and to Mr. Hayley's translations of the three cantos of the Inferno. • Dante believed,' says Ugo Foscolo, that, by his sufferings on earth, he atoned for the errors of humanity 'Ma la bontà divina ha si gran braccia, Che prende ciò che si rivolge a leì.' 'So wide arms Hath goodness infinite, that it receives All who turn to it.' |