Seven hundred years on, the question of where Dante’s remains should be kept remains divisive and one more cause for polemica (controversy). The dispute started after La Repubblica, Italy’s major daily, published an article hinting at ongoing negotiations, happening ‘behind the scenes,’ between the city administrations of Ravenna and Florence, to temporarily move  Dante’s remains to Florence for the 700^th anniversary of his death in 2021.

The ‘father of Italian language,’ Dante was exiled from Florence, his hometown, in 1302 for political reasons; the sentence stated that he would be executed (by burning) if he was ever to step foot in the city again. After much wandering, Dante eventually settled in Ravenna, where he died in 1321. He is buried in the Basilica di San Francesco, where some 400,000 visitors pay him homage every year.