Dei sepolcri

Dei sepolcri is a poem written by the Italian poet, Ugo Foscolo in 1806 and published in 1807. It consists of 295 hendecasyllabic verses. The carme (as the author defined it) is dedicated to another poet, Ippolito Pindemonte, with whom Foscolo had been discussing the recent Napoleonic law regarding tombs.

Foscolo has materialistic views about man's destiny after death, but he strongly affirms the value of tombs as memory of noble souls or bright intellects. When marble monuments are destroyed by time, those memories survive in poems they have inspired, and can in turn inspire deep virtues in new generations.

References

• Opere di Ugo Foscolo, a cura di Mario Puppo, Ugo Mursia editore, Milano 1962.
• Storia della Letteratura Italiana; direttori: Emilio Cecchi e Natalino Sapegno, vol. 7. L'Ottocento. ed. Garzanti, Milano, 1969.