Virgil's tomb (Italian: ''Tomba di Virgilio'') is a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

burial vault in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

, said to be the tomb of the poet

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

(70–19 BCE). It is located at the entrance to the old Roman tunnel known as the

Crypta Neapolitana The Crypta Neapolitana (Latin for "Neapolitan crypt") is an ancient Roman road tunnel near Naples, Italy. It was built in 37 BC and is over 700 metres long. The tunnel connected Naples with the so-called Phlegrean Fields and the town of Pozz ...

or ''grotta vecchia'' in the Piedigrotta district of the city, between Mergellina and

Fuorigrotta Fuorigrotta ( nap, Forerotta; ) is a western suburb of Naples, southern Italy. Covering an area of 6,2 km2, it is the most populated suburb of the city (population: 76.521). Geography It lies beyond the Posillipo hill and has been joined ...

History

Virgil was the object of literary admiration and veneration before his death. In the following centuries and particularly in the Middle Ages his name became associated with legends of miraculous powers and his tomb the object of pilgrimages and pagan veneration. At the time of Virgil's death, a large bay tree was near the entrance. According to a local legend, it died when

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ' ...

died, and

Petrarch Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited ...

planted a new one; because visitors took branches as souvenirs the second tree died as well.

Virgil's death

When

died at

Brindisi Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...

in 19 BCE, he asked that his ashes be taken back to his villa just outside Naples. There a shrine was created for him, and sacred rites were held every year on his birthday. He was given the rites of a ''

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...

'', at whose tomb the devout may find protection and counsel. Virgil's tomb became a place of pilgrimage for many centuries, with

and

Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was some ...

being among those who visited the tomb. The tomb still contains a tripod burner originally dedicated to

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

. There are no human remains in the tomb, however, as Virgil's ashes were lost while being moved during the Middle Ages.Oggetto Artistico : Virgil's Tomb
Parco della Tomba di Virgilio. Circuito informativo regionale della Campania per i Beni Culturali e Paesaggistici.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Virgil's Tomb Archaeological sites in Naples Burial monuments and structures Virgil Tombs in Italy fi:Vergiliuksen hauta

History

Virgil's death

See also

References