Anyone out there who read Dante’s Divine Comedy? It’s a must read book in school in Italy. A classical. If you have though so you know for sure about the love story of Paolo and Francesca. Deeply in love and killed by her husband. Tragic. Romantic. Real.
Well, right now some may think: who is Dante and what is the Divine Comedy? Not everywhere in the world they teach about Italian classics.
Durante degli Alighieri – better known as Dante – lived from 1265 to 1321 and was a poet during the Renaissance Age. He is THE poet of Italy and is called also the Father of the Italian Language. As a poet he wrote a lot and his most famous writing is the Comedy, later called Divine Comedy by Bocaccio, who was a poet as well and lived right after Dante.
So now we come to the Divine Comedy. Dante wrote this epic poem from 1308 until his death. It is one of the greatest works of literature and the ‘number one’ in Italy. The whole script is divided in three parts: inferno (hell), purgatorio (purgatory) and paradiso (heaven).
It is a little bit his own journey through this three stages to find God. It describes the world of the Italian renaissance, the way of seeing things and thinking, the medieval Christian philosophy and theology.
So what has this to do with the love story? Well, Dante lived at the same period as Francesca and her sweetheart (Francesca 1255 – 1285, Paolo 1246 – 1285). And he knew both of them. And knew about their long-time affair.
He used the story for an episode in this first part of the Divine Comedy, in the Inferno.
Paolo Malatesta was a son of Malatesta di Verucchio, the lord of Rimini, and the younger brother of Gianciotto. He was a great fighter and was honored many times.
Gianciotto, the oldest and crippled son of Malatesta, was married for political reasons to Francesca. He had an active position in the Romagnole wars and was a good politician.
Francesca da Rimini or Polenta was the daughter of the lord of Ravenna, Guido I da Polenta. As a young woman around 1275 she was married to Gianciotto for solidifying the peace with the Malatesta family. But she fell in love with Paolo, hale and young. In one or the other way they’ve never been caught until around 1285 when Gianciotto surprised the two of them in her bedroom. And killed them instantly.
That is the love story which Dante ‘used’ in his Comedy, his journey to God.
As it comes to less romantic facts: the castle is a medieval fortress which is overlooking the sea and the hilly inland landscape somewhere south to San Marino and north to Pesaro. It is one of the best preserved medieval castles, one of the most visited in the Marche region and place of many museums, musical and artistic events.
Since ancient times it was a very prestigious position, a crossroad for traffic and people. Furthermore it was the theater of trouble in the Middle Ages between the families of Romagna and Marche and the papacy.
It was first built in the 11th century and is place of the infamous feuds between two families: Malatesta and Montefeltro. This ended immediately when the Sforza family took over the control of the castle and area. Thanks to Dante the castle today is a symbol of love – and not of war.
I came to Gradara during a winter stay in the region. Together with a friend ‘hunting’ the most beautiful medieval towns and cities we visited the town and castle.
For a small fee (I think is was 2 euros) we entered- Luckily there were only a few people. After passing the draw bridge one enters the inner yard with a well. From here the pathway to follow is signed.
The rooms are highly decorated with lovely paintings on the walls. The furniture from the ancient times are giving a perfect idea about the way Francesca lived here. It looks all very cozy and comfortable and no one can tell me they had less comfort that period.
We had beautiful views outside the many high windows. A wide view over the green landscape towards the mountains and overlooking the Adriatic Sea.
Of course we saw the ‘drama’ bed!
For me it has been a real highlight to see the castle and the little town. Both give a great feeling about those times, how life was for the ‘better families’, the rich ones. The castle gave me a really comfortable impression and I enjoyed the great structure.
I stopped a while under the family tree. Do you have one of your family? I think not many have a family tree AND a coat of arms. My family has both and I liked to draw the coat of arms as a child. It gave me the possibility of dreaming and imagining knights and ladies, fight and love, romance and drama. Let me know if you have a family tree and where your ancestors are coming from in a comment below.
Gradara, Le Marche/Italy:
For further information:
Gradara official website
Beautiful!!!!!! (non trovo il pulsante per seguire i commenti!!!)