Arrigo Mainardi

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Arrigo Mainardi is recalled by Guido del Duca in the Purgatorio (XIV, 97), who names him together with the good Lizio and other Romagnol lords now extinct or vanished, in a passage imbued with nostalgia for the courtesy and liberality of the past. According to the notes to the canto, he was one of the lords of Bertinoro, still living in 1228, and was an intimate friend of Guido del Duca. The notes recall the episode narrated by Pietro di Dante: upon Guido's death, Arrigo had the bench where they used to sit together sawn in two, declaring that he would never find such a companion again. The sources describe him as "a knight full of courtesy and honor," who willingly laid out tables, gave away robes and horses, appreciated worthy men, and dedicated his entire life to generosity and fine living. His mention by Dante, together with that of the other names in the passage, is read as a proverbial example of a courtesy forever lost.