Editing Dante Alighieri (section)

==Death and burial==
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| footer = Dante's tomb exterior and interior in Ravenna, built in 1780
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Dante's final days were spent in [[Ravenna]], where he had been invited to stay in the city in 1318 by its prince, [[Guido II da Polenta]]. Dante died in Ravenna on September 14, 1321, aged about 56, of [[quartan malaria]] contracted while returning from a diplomatic mission to the [[Republic of Venice]]. He was attended by his three children, and possibly by [[Gemma Donati]], and by friends and admirers he had in the city.{{sfn|Raffa|2020|pp=23–24, 27, 28–30}} He was buried in Ravenna at the Church of San Pier Maggiore (later called [[Basilica of San Francesco, Ravenna|Basilica di San Francesco]]). [[Bernardo Bembo]], [[praetor]] of [[Venice]], erected [[Tomb of Dante|a tomb for him]] in 1483.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theflorentine.net/2017/04/10/dante-ravenna-florence-battle-of-bones/|title=Dante: the battle of the bones|date=April 10, 2017|website=The Florentine|last1=Pirro|first1=Deirdre|access-date=April 30, 2021|archive-date=April 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430112703/https://www.theflorentine.net/2017/04/10/dante-ravenna-florence-battle-of-bones/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.italymagazine.com/news/dantes-tomb |title=Italy Magazine, Dante's Tomb |website=italymagazine.com |date=October 31, 2017 |access-date=July 22, 2019 |archive-date=July 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722190530/https://www.italymagazine.com/news/dantes-tomb |url-status=live }}</ref>

On the grave, a verse of [[Bernardo Canaccio]], a friend of Dante, is dedicated to Florence:

{{Verse translation|
{{lang|la|parvi Florentia mater amoris}}
|
Florence, mother of little love}}

In 1329, [[Bertrand du Pouget]], Cardinal and nephew of [[Pope John XXII]], classified Dante's ''Monarchia'' as heretical and sought to have his bones burned at the stake. [[Ostasio I da Polenta]] and Pino della Tosa, allies of Pouget, interceded to prevent the destruction of Dante's remains.{{sfn|Raffa|2020|p=38}}
[[File:Dante.deathmask.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|Recreated death mask of Dante in Palazzo Vecchio, Florence]]

Florence eventually came to regret having exiled Dante. The city made repeated requests for the return of his remains. The custodians of the body in Ravenna refused, at one point going so far as to conceal the bones in a false wall of the monastery. Florence built a tomb for Dante in 1829, in the [[Basilica di Santa Croce di Firenze|Basilica of Santa Croce]]. That tomb has been empty ever since, with Dante's body remaining in Ravenna. The front of his tomb in Florence reads {{Lang|it|Onorate l'altissimo poeta}}—which roughly translates as "Honor the most exalted poet" and is a quote from the fourth canto of the ''Inferno''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thelocal.it/20190904/dantes-tomb-italy-ravenna-florence/ |title=Dante's last laugh: Why Italy's national poet isn't buried where you think he is. |first=Jessica |last=Phelan |newspaper=The Local Italy |date=September 4, 2019 |access-date=June 8, 2021 |archive-date=June 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608202220/https://www.thelocal.it/20190904/dantes-tomb-italy-ravenna-florence/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1945, the [[Italian Social Republic|fascist government]] discussed bringing Dante's remains to the [[Valtellina Redoubt]], the Alpine valley in which the regime intended to make its last stand against the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]]. The case was made that "the greatest symbol of Italianness" should be present at fascism's "heroic" end, but ultimately, no action was taken.{{sfn|Raffa|2020|pp=244–245}}

A copy of Dante's death mask has been displayed since 1911 in the [[Palazzo Vecchio]]; scholars today believe it is not a true death mask and was probably carved in 1483, perhaps by [[Pietro Lombardo|Pietro]] and [[Tullio Lombardo]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.florenceinferno.com/dante-death-mask/ |title=Dante death mask |website=florenceinferno.com |date=July 2013 |access-date=July 22, 2019 |archive-date=July 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722194116/https://www.florenceinferno.com/dante-death-mask/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
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