Historic monument, Other

Dante Alighieri, the subject of the statue, was born in Florence in 1265, between 22nd May and 13th June and died on 14th September 1321 in Ravenna. He was a poet and a writer and he is considered the father of the Italian language. He lived in Verona for seven years, during his exile from Florence. He was hosted by Bartolomeo and Cangrande della Scala: in this environment he found a stimulant and embracing court, which influenced his political work. He dedicated his third cantica “Paradiso” to Cangrande della Scala, thankful for his enlightening personality.

The epigraph reads: A Dante “lo primo svo rifvgio nelle feste nei voti concorde ogni terra italiana” XIV Maggio MDCCCLXV dc svo natalizio [his birthday]. This was the first marble monument in the city of the 19th century. The statue was placed in piazza dei Signori during the night between 13th and 14th May 1865, hidden from the Austrians.

The first location of the statue is unknown, but it replaced an original fountain representing Neptune, that had been collocated by Angelo Contarini in 1647. The water of the fountain was supplied by rio d’Avesa. On 6th october 1863 a contest for the realisation of the statue of the poet was won by Ugo Zannoni. The statue was erected upon a threemetre high model, supported by a pedestal. Ugo Zannoni (1836-1919) was the pupil of Grazioso Spazzi and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts “G.B. Cignaroli” in Verona. He became famous thanks to his monument to Dante, realized in white marble of Carrara, his favourite material for its brightness and classical appeal. The statue is in good condition following a recent restoration. The value of the statue is favoured by two main reasons: its centrality in piazza dei Signori and the signposts indicating its presence in Verona. This statue has no artificial lighting.

Source: guidebook "Le statue di Verona", project supervised by Luca Leone, published in August 2015 with the support of the town council of Verona.