The neighbours' little church

Above the door of this little church you'll find painted coats of arms, belonging to the families from these few streets who kept it going for centuries. The facade below is a narrow strip of stone with a single entrance and nothing more, and inside you'd be hard pressed to fit a hundred people.

Yet this is where the families who shaped Dante's story came together. The Portinari had their tombs here, and Folco Portinari, a banker who founded the city's great hospital, was the father of Beatrice. The Donati came here too, and Dante married one of their daughters, Gemma.

The church is free to enter and usually open during the day. Inside, a story is waiting for you about something that still happens here every day, at a tomb that people suffering from heartbreak have been visiting for centuries.