other · Italy

Lordship of Ravenna

1275 CE – 1441 CE · capital Ravenna

The da Polenta lordship over the old imperial city of Ravenna, which sheltered Dante in his last years.

Origins

In 1275 Guido da Polenta, called the Elder, took control of Ravenna, ancient capital of the Western Roman Empire and the Byzantine exarchate. His family ruled as lords and later as papal vicars within the Papal States.

Rule and society

The da Polenta ruled a city whose glory lay in the past, living from the farmland and salt pans of the Romagna coast. Guido's daughter Francesca married into the Malatesta of Rimini and became the tragic heroine of Dante's Inferno. Guido Novello da Polenta welcomed the exiled Dante, who died in Ravenna in 1321 and is buried there. Later members of the family were often violent, and they grew dependent on Venice.

Decline and legacy

In 1441 Venice expelled the last lord, Ostasio III da Polenta, and annexed Ravenna to the Republic of Venice. After 1509 the city returned to the Papal States.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Lordship of Ravenna. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lordship-of-ravenna
MLA
“Lordship of Ravenna.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lordship-of-ravenna. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Lordship of Ravenna.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lordship-of-ravenna.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Lordship of Ravenna’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lordship-of-ravenna (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻