The crypt floor is constantly submerged by water as it is located below sea level, and this fact is a constant attraction for tourists... #tuttitaly
The church of San Francesco di Ravenna is famous for its partially flooded crypt, thanks to its intercepting the aquifer. The floor with the beautiful mosaic decorations and the inscription that recalls how the original destination of this sacred place was to house the relics of bishop Neone, founder of the church, is therefore constantly submerged by water. Despite this, we can still admire the fragments of the schools of fish swimming in a truly unique context.
The basilica, dating back to the 5th century, was initially dedicated to the SS. Apostoli and St. Peter. In the 9th-10th century, the building was radically rebuilt, and a sturdy square bell tower was added. Later, with the name of San Pietro Maggiore, the architectural complex passed under the protection of the Franciscan order. These dedicated it to St. Francis of Assisi.
During the Middle Ages, it seems to have been the favorite church of the city's lords, the Polentoni, frequented by Dante, whose funeral was celebrated here in 1321.
The remains of the great poet are kept in the adjacent tomb, a neoclassical temple.
With a quadrangular plan, the funeral monument is covered by a dome surmounted by a pine cone. It is accessed through a door, above which the archiepiscopal coat of arms of Cardinal Gonzaga triumphs, and the words "Dantis poetae sepulcrum" on the architrave. The coffin, covered with marble and stucco, dates back to the Roman period.
The poet's body was long disputed between Ravenna and Florence.
Their reconciliation is testified by the lamp that hangs in the center of the tomb's ceiling in which the olive oil of the Tuscan hills burns, offered by the Florentines every second Sunday of September on the anniversary of Dante's death.
It should be remembered that between 1944 and 1945, for fear of damage caused by the bombing of the Second World War, the remains were buried under a mound covered with vegetation not far from the Funeral Monument. A plaque now indicates the place.
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