Florence’s Doomed Poet and the House He Lived in
To visit the museum and Florence, remember that the best months to visit this fair city are May, June, September and October. That is because the days are warm and long. Other months are very humid and Italians tend to leave, making restaurants close. It is the largest city in Tuscany and is famous for its art and history. Many of the finest museums in the world (Uffizi, Galleria dell’Accademia) are home here. But the art, the food, even the rich tapestry of history doesn’t hold a candle to Florence’s most awe inspiring touch. That touch grabs you around sundown when the entire city has a glow of rich amber. It is worth the trip alone.
Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) was a Florentine poet of noble ancestry. His most noted work, Divina Comedia (The Divine Comedy), was seen as the basis for modern Italian making Tuscan the standard for the Italian language. The work is said to be the greatest literary statement in medieval history. Dante was born to Della degli Abati, who died when he was 7, and Dante Alighieri II, who died in the 1280’s. Dante was well educated in both Christian and Classical Literature. At age 12 he was promised in marriage to Gemma Donati, a girl he later married in 1285. But he had but one love, and that was not of his wife but of a girl named Beatrice. Beatrice who was his guide in the Divine Comedy, and the same Beatrice for whom he wrote La Vita Nuova (The New Life). There are multitude of sonnets for Beatrice, and yet none for his wife. Dante was a nomad of country, but came to rest for a final home in Ravenna in 1320. Shortly before his death he was accused of Averriosm (treason against the country) and his book De Monarchia was ordered to be burned by Pope John XXII.