Dante Alighieri – Medieval Italian poet; The Divine Comedy, La Vita Nuova; hailed as the “father of Italian literature.” A Florentine by birth, he was exiled for political strife. His works unite theology, philosophy, and poetry. The Comedy became a symbol of the soul’s journey and a cornerstone of European culture.
💔 His muse Beatrice inspired much of his poetry. 🏛️ A politically active “White Guelph,” he held office in Florence. ⚖️ Sentenced to exile and death, he never returned to his city. 🌍 Wandered across Italy, finding refuge with patrons and courts. 🖋️ Originally called simply “The Poem”; Boccaccio added “Divine.” 📚 Influenced Petrarch, Milton, and T. S. Eliot. 🎭 Depicted in paintings, operas, and symphonic works. 📜 First to portray the afterlife as a structured system of three realms. 🗝️ Drew upon contemporary science, from astronomy to medicine. 🎶 Verdi and Liszt composed music based on his works. 🖌️ Giotto painted one of the earliest known portraits of Dante. 🧐 Curious: in 2008 Florence formally revoked his medieval death sentence. 😄 Funny: legend says he read aloud in the streets, oblivious to passers-by.