From Ravenna to Midhurst: The Remarkable Story Behind Philip Jackson's Dante
Visitors walking beside South Pond in Midhurst may be surprised to encounter one of the greatest figures in European literature.
Standing among the trees is Dante Alighieri, the medieval Italian poet whose Divine Comedy has influenced writers, artists and thinkers for more than 700 years. The bronze sculpture is the work of internationally renowned sculptor Philip Jackson, who lives and works locally, and it is also the starting point for a fascinating web of connections between Midhurst, Chichester and the Italian city of Ravenna.
An internationally known sculptor with local roots
Philip Jackson is one of Britain's best-known contemporary figurative sculptors. Based in West Sussex, his major public commissions can be found across Britain and overseas. They include the Bomber Command Memorial in London's Green Park, the Queen Mother Memorial on The Mall, Bobby Moore at Wembley Stadium and Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square. Closer to home, his works include St Richard outside Chichester Cathedral and Minerva at Chichester Festival Theatre. Philip Jackson Sculptures
Although born in Scotland, Jackson has made this part of West Sussex his home and works from his studio near Midhurst. In 2021 he was awarded the Freedom of the City of Chichester, the city's highest civic honour. Chichester City Council
Alongside his monumental public works, Jackson has created a distinctive body of gallery sculpture. Italy — and Venice in particular — has been a lasting source of inspiration. His elongated, mysterious figures, sometimes masked or elaborately robed, draw upon the atmosphere and imagery of post-Renaissance Venice while remaining unmistakably contemporary.
That Italian influence makes his choice of Dante for Midhurst especially appropriate.
Dante comes to Midhurst
The sculpture was given by Philip Jackson and his wife Jean to the people of Midhurst, their adopted home.
It was the culmination of a project stretching back several years and was finally unveiled beside South Pond on 11 September 2024. The Midhurst Society had originally approached Jackson in 2018 with the idea of displaying one of his works in the town. What eventually emerged was something much more permanent: a full-size bronze Dante.
Jackson chose Dante because of the extraordinary influence the poet has exerted on European art, religion, language and culture — including on Jackson's own Italian-inspired sculptures.
The sculpture shows Dante contemplating an open copy of the Divine Comedy. Rising from its pages are three small figures: Dante himself, the Roman poet Virgil and Beatrice, the woman who became Dante's great spiritual inspiration.
They represent the remarkable journey at the heart of the Divine Comedy: through Hell, Purgatory and ultimately Paradise.
From Florence to Ravenna
Dante was born in Florence around 1265, but politics eventually forced him into exile from the city.
He spent his final years in Ravenna, on Italy's Adriatic coast, where he died in 1321. His tomb remains there today and is one of the city's important cultural landmarks.
Dante's importance extends far beyond literature. By writing major works in the Tuscan vernacular rather than Latin, he helped establish the language that developed into modern Italian. His imagined journey through the afterlife went on to inspire centuries of painting, sculpture, literature and music.
And it is here that another local connection emerges.
Chichester and Ravenna
Ravenna is twinned with Chichester.
The relationship is maintained through the Friends of Ravenna in Chichester and their counterparts, the Amici di Chichester, in Italy. The two cities maintain cultural links through visits, talks, educational projects and exchanges.
So placing Dante in Midhurst created an intriguing cultural bridge.
A great Italian poet buried in Ravenna has been interpreted by a West Sussex sculptor whose work has itself been strongly influenced by Italian art — and the sculpture stands within the same district as Ravenna's twin city.
The Friends of Ravenna were involved in supporting the project, alongside Midhurst Town Council and The Midhurst Society.
And the connection has become more than symbolic.
Visitors from Ravenna meet Dante in Sussex
When a group from Ravenna visited Chichester in June 2025, their programme included a visit to Philip Jackson's studio and a trip to Midhurst to see the Dante sculpture.
There is something rather satisfying about that journey.
More than seven centuries after Dante found sanctuary in Ravenna, visitors from the city where he died and is buried travelled to the South Downs to find him represented there in bronze.
The sculpture therefore tells several stories at once.
It is a gift from an artist to the community in which he lives. It reflects Philip Jackson's long fascination with Italian art. It celebrates one of Europe's most influential writers. And, perhaps unexpectedly, it has become a tangible link between communities in West Sussex and Italy.
A little piece of Italy beside South Pond
Public art can sometimes be passed without a second glance. But knowing the story behind Midhurst's Dante makes him rather harder to overlook.
Look closely at the book in his hand and at the figures emerging from its pages. Think of Florence, where Dante was born; Ravenna, which gave the exile a final home; Chichester, its English twin; and Philip Jackson's studio only a few miles away.
For a sculpture standing quietly beside a Sussex pond, it has travelled an extraordinarily long way.
More information about joining the Friends of Ravenna
