Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Pia de' Tolomei (1868

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Pia de' Tolomei (1868–1880)

Pia de' Tolomei Pia de' Tolomei is an oil painting on canvas by English artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti[2], painted around 1868 and currently housed at the Spencer Museum of Art, on the campus of the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. This chalk drawing is one of the many studies for the final oil painting. Art in Tuscany \| Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Pia de' Tolomei \| History of the painting
Podere Santa Pia was named after Pia de' Tolomei, a woman with an intriguing story. According to some legends, the beautiful Pia di Tolomei crossed the Ponte della Pia to go into exile in Maremma, at Castello della Pietra, where she was murdered by her husband Nello d'Inghiramo de Pannocchieschi. Dante Alighieri wrote about this legend (Divine Comedy, Purgatorio, Canto V). Pia de' Tolomei asks for Dante's prayers when he encounters her waiting to enter Purgatory among souls who died suddenly and unprepared. "Son Pia, Siena mi fé, disfecemi Maremma." ("I am Pia. Siena made me; Maremma unmade me.") Purg. V, 130–136.
“Deh, quando tu sarai tornato al mondo, e riposato della lunga via,” seguitò il terzo spirito al secondo, “ricorditi di me, che son la Pia; Siena mi fe’, disfecemi Maremma: salsi colui che innanellata, pria disposando, m’avea con la sua gemma.”		“O pray, when you return to the world, and are rested from your long journey,” followed the third spirit after the second, “remember me, who am La Pia. Siena made me, Maremma unmade me: this is known to him who after due engagement wedded me with his ring.”

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Pia de' Tolomei (1868–1880), Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA

		Il Ponte della Pia
I ruderi di Castel di Pietra	Lapide apposta sulle mura del castello nel 1921, Castel di Pietra
Lapide in Castel di Pietra « Ricorditi di me, che son la Pia; Siena mi fé, disfecemi Maremma » (Purgatorio V, vv. 133-134)

Castel di Pietra, Lapide apposta sulle mura del castello nel 1921 in occasione del VI centenario della morte di Dante Alighieri [3]
[1] Source: W.C. Alexander; by descent to Alexander's daughter, Mrs. (Emily) Dineley; Francis Dineley; bought by Stone Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne (1969) Inscriptions Artist's monogram and date bottom right: DGR / 1868 Quotation top left: Siena mi fé, disfecemi Maremma Model: Jane Morris [2] Dante Gabriel Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882) was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais. Rossetti's art was characterised by its sensuality and its medieval revivalism. Rossetti's personal life was closely linked to his work, especially his relationships with his models and muses Elizabeth Siddal, Fanny Cornforth, and Jane Morris. [3] Foto: Aerospike