Dead Guys

If life can throw you a curve, death can do the same. On a recent vacation to Italy I visited the tombs of some famous artists and scientist and learned a little about how they ended up where they ended up.

Santa Croce in Florence is the largest Franciscan church in the world and the final resting place of some famous folks. For example, Michelangelo. Here's his tomb. But he didn't want to be buried in Florence. He wanted to be buried in Rome where he did all his work. However, the city fathers decided that because his family hailed from the area that he needed to be at home. It probably also provided a nice tourist attraction.

Here is Gallileo's tomb. Now, the Church had some "issues" with him as you might recall and he wasn't considered worthy of being buried in sacred ground. However, the Franciscans hid his body until such time as the Church changed their mind and then placed him in the tomb you see today.

Dante is next, except he's not there. He is really buried in Ravenna. The city fathers tried to get Ravenna to give him up but they refused. (There must be good money in dead guy tourism) Therefore, the tomb is empty.

Santa Croce seems to be the place where all famous Italians are honored. There are also memorial plaques for Enrico Fermi and Marconi, even though their bodies are no where near the church.

ANother famous guy buried at Santa Croce is Machiavelli. His tomb was undergoing some work and was covered by scaffolding. But he's really there.

Finally we have Rafael. He is buried in Rome in the Pantheon.