Dante Alighieri's Tomb

Dante's masterpiece, The Divine Comedy, is one of the major works of the transition from Medieval to Renaissance thought. It is considered the masterpiece of Italian as well as world literature. In Italy he is known as "the Supreme Poet". He is also called the father of the Italian language. He actively participated in the political struggles of his time and he was banished from his hometown, Florence. Florence lamented Dante's exile and in 1829 a tomb was built for him in the Basilica of Santa Cruz. The tomb stayed empty however as Dante's body remains entomb in Ravenna. The tomb, like all the