The peripatetic James C. is in Ravenna today, and visited the tomb of Dante. That’s the shot he sent, above. He very kindly prayed for me before the Poet’s sepulchre. Can you imagine such a gift?! Here’s the inscription on the bas-relief:

JVRA MONARCHIAE SVPEROS PHLEGETHONTA LACVSQVE
LVSTRANDO CECINI VOLVERVNT FATA QVOVSQVE
SED QVIA PARS CESSIT MELIORIBVS HOSPITA CASTRIS
AVCTOREMQVE SVVM PETIIT FELICIOR ASTRIS
HIC CLAVDOR DANTES PATRIIS EXTORRIS AB ORIS
QVEM GENVIT PARVI FLORENTIA MATER AMORIS.

I found this translation from the Latin online:

The rights of Monarchy, the Heavens, the Stream of Fire, the Pit,
In vision seen, I sang as far as to the Fates seemed fit;
But since my soul, an alien here, hath flown to nobler wars,
And, happier now, hath gone to seek its Maker ‘mid the stars,
Here am I Dante shut, exiled from the ancestral shore,
Whom Florence, the of all least-loving mother, bore.

Say, if you’ve been listening to the BBC’s radio play adaptations of the Commedia, the last one, Paradiso, is available today online by clicking here. Don’t miss hearing Purgatorio while it’s available. The BBC has taken down its Inferno, so you’ve missed your chance with that.