Statue of Dante

Dante Alighieri (May 14, 1265 - September 14, 1321) was an Italian poet from Florence whose central work was Divina Commedia which is considered the greatest work in the Italian language. It is the Commedia Dante's statue holds in his hands. The sculptor was Ximenes Ettore and it was dedicated to the 600th anniversay of Dante's death.

Though the park service needs to have base of the statue cleaned, the bronze statue has a very powerful presence and is well worth a visit. It is located in Meridian Hill Park and I would not suggest visiting the statue at dusk as this part of the park may be unsafe at night.

Inscription: Dante Alighieri - Presented to the city of Washington in behalf of the Italians in the United States by Comm Carlo Barsotti (An Italian-American newspaper publisher).