Pia de' Tolomei and Nello della Pietra

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Carrara marble, dated 1872 Purchased with the assistance of the France Fund, and the MDG/ VISA Purchase Grant Fund In the nineteenth century it was believed that La Pia mentioned in Dante’s Purgatorio was Pia de* Tolomei. Her husband. Nello d’Inghiramo, had her put to death, out of jealousy. in 1295. This sculpture shows the couple at the moment when Nello begins to suspect Pia of infidelity. Originally modelled in 1846-8. Fedi made a number of smaller versions for British tourists for whom the exquisite textures, miniature detail, medieval dress and psychological drama were familiar from the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites. WArgSS. 302

📍 Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, England