Dante and the church of Santa Margherita

The church of Santa Margherita, dating back to 1032, is located in a small side street after Dante's house, in the direction of Via del Corso. Although it is known as "Dante's church" because it was the one attended by his family and because it was here that the poet made his arranged marriage with Gemma Donati official, it seems that Beatrice was actually the true protagonist of this place. According to legend, Beatrice's remains are found right here, at the Portinari family tombstone, located to the left of the main entrance, but some researchers claim, instead, that she was buried in Santa Croce, since it was the church to which her husband's family belonged. Tradition has it that visitors used to write letters to Beatrice, asking and imploring her to give them a hand with their love life, and that they used to leave them in a small basket placed near her shrine.