Dante’s Last Voyage

DANTE’S LAST VOYAGE
From Venice to Ravenna (stop at Pomposa Abbey)
3 days trip – MINIMUM 14 PAYING PARTICIPANTS

We follow together in the footsteps of the Supreme Poet on his return voyage as ambassador of the Da Polenta lords, from Venice to Ravenna, with a stop in the magnificent Pomposa Abbey, to rest from the disease that was already exhausting him.

1st day: Venice
Arrival of the group in Venice by own transport (train or bus; luggage will be transferred with porter service directly to the hotel).
Meeting at Santa Lucia railway station with a private guide and start of the guided walk in Santa Croce district. The first stop is dedicated to the Scuola Grande di San Rocco (entrance ticket € 10.00 p.p. to be paid on spot) to admire the magnificent works of Tintoretto. Then we reach San Polo where Dante was the guest of one of the most
influential patricians of the time, Giovanni Soranzo, and even now it is possible to read a plate commemorating him on the facade of the beautiful gothic palace of the Soranzo family, which overlooks the right side of the splendid Campo San Polo. Proceeding to visit the Basilica dei Frari (entrance ticket € 3.00 pp ticket to be paid on spot) which preserves works by Tiziano and Bellini and in the surroundings of Rialto stop for a snack / free time for lunch in the various “bacari” (typical Venetian taverns for a shot and a glass of wine).
The guide will take you through San Marco to show you the famous square through Dante’s eyes, and not as it is today, through the Castello district you will reach the Arsenale; this is a place that greatly impressed Dante for its grandeur and magnificence and which he mentioned in the XXI canto of the Inferno where he evokes an image of the Arsenal of Venice:

Quale nell’Arzanà de’ Viniziani
bolle l’inverno la tenace pece
a rimpalmare i legni lor non sani[…]

These three triplets by Dante can be read on a tombstone placed to the left of the main entrance to the Arsenale and on the right of the large entrance door you can also admire a bronze bust of the Supreme Poet. At the end, walk to reach the hotel centrally located and overnight. Free time for dinner.

2nd day: Chioggia, San Basilio, Pomposa Abbey
After breakfast in hotel, meeting with the guide and transfer by private motorboat to Chioggia, to emulate Dante’s voyage back from Venice, along Malamocco and Pellestrina (duration of the crossing about 1 hour). Once in Chioggia, disembark and guided tour to discover the delightful city of water, then meeting with the driver and transfer to San Basilio, a pleasant place where a Romanesque church stands, and which was once an ancient stopping place during pilgrims’ journeys along Via Popilia and where Dante seems to have stopped during his voyage to reach Pomposa Abbey. Short visit to the Church and the Archaeological Museum and departure. Stop in Mesola, a town built by the Este Dukes as a bulwark of defense of the borders of the duchy for a short lunch stop near Mesola castle. Departure to reach Pomposa Abbey and meet the guide to admire the magnificence of the Abbey through the eyes of the Poet and what he saw in 1321. At the end of the visit to the magnificent abbey, transfer to the hotel
located nearby and overnight.

3rd day: Ravenna
Breakfast in hotel and check-out. Departure to Ravenna, the last destination of Dante’s voyage and also of our journey. In Ravenna a guide will take you to discover Dante’s places, his tomb and the magnificent city of mosaics. At the end of the visit, transfer to the railway station and end of the services.