Dante's Plaque: Santa Maria Maggiore Church

...IN LA MENTE M'È FITTA, E OR M'ACCORA LA CARA E BUONA IMAGINE PATERNA DI VOI, QUANDO NEL MONDO AD ORA AD ORA M'INSEGNAVATE COME L'UOM S'ETERNA!

DANTE, INF., XV, 82 - 84.

FOR IN MY MIND IS FIXED, AND TOUCHES NOW ⁠MY HEART THE DEAR AND GOOD PATERNAL IMAGE ⁠OF YOU, WHEN IN THE WORLD FROM HOUR TO HOUR YOU TAUGHT ME HOW A MAN BECOMES ETERNAL ⁠

We are in the seventh circle, where sodomites are punished. Dante expresses genuine gratitude and affection towards Brunetto Latini, his own teacher, as well as a notary and a prominent political figure in Florence. Brunetto is damned for his homosexuality, but Dante wants to reassure him about his unchanged feelings and especially about the moral value of his teachings. “The Tesoretto” will be an inspiration during the writing process of Dante’s Comedy. Brunetto’s tomb is placed in the left chapel of Santa Maria Maggiore church.