In street near the Via del Corso, you’ll find the small, spare Santa Margherita de’ Cerchi. It’s widely known as “Dante and Beatrice’s church,” as, allegedly, Dante first saw her in this building.
In all probability, Beatrice is buried with her husband’s family in San Croce, but her family members were buried in Santa Margherita de’ Cerchi. There is a memorial to her here, and beside it a basket, into which visitors leave their messages for Dante’s “gloriosa donna della mia mente.”
JACQUELINE A. POLLARD 