Early life

Dante was born in Florence, Republic of Florence, present-day Italy. The exact date of his birth
is unknown, although it is generally believed to be around 1265. This can be deduced from
autobiographic allusions in the Divine Comedy. Its first section, the Inferno, begins, "Nel mezzo
del cammin di nostra vita" ("Midway upon the journey of our life"), implying that Dante was
around 35 years old, since the average lifespan according to the Bible (Psalm 89:10, Vulgate) is
70 years; and since his imaginary travel to the nether world took place in 1300, he was most
probably born around 1265. Some verses of the Paradiso section of the Divine Comedy also
provide a possible clue that he was born under the sign of Gemini: "As I revolved with the
eternal twins, I saw revealed, from hills to river outlets, the threshing-floor that makes us so
ferocious" (XXII 151154). In 1265, the sun was in Gemini between approximately May 11 and
June 11 (Julian calendar).
Portrait of Dante, from a fresco in the Palazzo dei Giudici, Florence
Dante claimed that his family descended from the ancient Romans (Inferno, XV, 76), but the
earliest relative he could mention by name was Cacciaguida degli Elisei (Paradiso, XV, 135),
born no earlier than about 1100. Dante's father, Alaghiero or Alighiero di Bellincione, was a
White Guelph who suffered no reprisals after the Ghibellines won the Battle of Montaperti in the
middle of the 13th century. This suggests that Alighiero or his family may have enjoyed some
protective prestige and status, although some suggest that the politically inactive Alighiero was
of such low standing that he was not considered worth exiling.
Dante's family had loyalties to the Guelphs, a political alliance that supported the Papacy and
which was involved in complex opposition to the Ghibellines, who were backed by the Holy
Roman Emperor. The poet's mother was Bella, likely a member of the Abati family. She died
when Dante was not yet ten years old, and Alighiero soon married again, to Lapa di Chiarissimo
Cialuffi. It is uncertain whether he really married her, since widowers were socially limited in
such matters, but this woman definitely bore him two children, Dante's half-brother Francesco
and half-sister Tana (Gaetana). When Dante was 12, he was promised in marriage to Gemma di
Manetto Donati, daughter of Manetto Donati, member of the powerful Donati family. Contracting
marriages at this early age was quite common and involved a formal ceremony, including
contracts signed before a notary. But by this time Dante had fallen in love with another, Beatrice
Portinari (known also as Bice), whom he first met when he was only nine. Years after his
marriage to Gemma he claims to have met Beatrice again; he wrote several sonnets to Beatrice
but never mentioned Gemma in any of his poems. The exact date of his marriage is not known:
the only certain information is that, before his exile in 1301, he had three children (Pietro,
Jacopo and Antonia).

Dante in Verona, by Antonio Cotti

Dante fought with the Guelph cavalry at the Battle of Campaldino (June 11, 1289). This victory
brought about a reformation of the Florentine constitution. To take any part in public life, one had
to enroll in one of the city's many commercial or artisan guilds, so Dante entered the Physicians'
and Apothecaries' Guild. In the following years, his name is occasionally recorded as speaking
or voting in the various councils of the republic. A substantial portion of minutes from such
meetings in the years 12981300 was lost, however, so the true extent of Dante's participation
in the city's councils is uncertain.
Gemma bore Dante several children. Although several others subsequently claimed to be his
offspring, it is likely that only Jacopo, Pietro, Giovanni and Antonia were his actual children.
Antonia later became a nun, taking the name Sister Beatrice.
Major Accomplishments
Dante's largest accomplishment is his poem The Divine Comedy which has been considered a
major work for over 650 years. He wrote it as an allegory to human life, and is written as a visual
trip through the Christian afterlife. He meant it to be a warning to a corrupt society so they could
lead themselves to righteousness. It is written in the first person, which is through Dante's
perspective. The reader follows him through the three levels of the Christian afterlife; hell,
purgatory, and then heaven. Virgil, a Roman poet, guides him through both hell and purgatory.
Beatrice guides him through heaven. The poem is composed of 100 cantos.
Interesting Dante Alighieri Facts:
Dante's true love was Beatrice Portinari, and she was mentioned in several of Dante's sonnets
and influenced his writing.Dante and Gemma had four children together during their marriage
including Jacopo, Pietro, Giovanni, and Antonia.When Dante was 18 he met four people who
would form, along with himself, the leaders of dolce stil novo (the most notable literary
movement in Italy during the 13th century). These other four people were Guido Cavalcanti,
Lapo Gianni, Cino da Pistoia, and Brunetto Latini.Dante became a pharmacist in order to help
further his political career. He could not become a member of public office without holding such
a position.Beatrice died in 1290 and Dante was heartbroken.In 1302 Dante was exiled from
Florence for life by the Black Guelphs, the political leaders at the time.While in exile Dante
traveled. During his travels he wrote several works, including The Eloquent Vernacular, which
was an attempt to unify the Italian territories through aspects of every Italian spoken dialect to
establish the language as a serious literary language. Despite not finishing the work it was still
influential in the purpose it was intended.Dante lived in Bologna for a few years until Florentine
exiles were banished and he moved on to Padua. The next few years of his life are
undocumented.Dante wrote a diatribe against members of the Florentine government in
approximately 1308 and was permanently exiled from Florence.Following his permanent exile
Dante wrote The Divine Comedy. It was an epic three-part poem that he began writing in 1308
and completed in 1321.The Divine Comedy is divided into Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. In
simple terms the poem journeys through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, but it holds much deeper
meaning representing the journey of the soul towards God. The Divine Comedy is made up of
14,233 lines.Dante also wrote Convivio (The Banquet), Monarchia, De vulgari eloquentia (On
the Eloquence of Vernacular), La Vita Nuova (The New Life), which was the story of Dante's
love for Beatrice.Dante was invited to Ravenna in 1318 by Prince Guido Novello da Polenta,
after learning he would never be allowed back in Florence. There he finished the final third
of The Divine Comedy - Paradiso, in 1321.Dante Alighieri died on the way back to Ravenna
from Venice in 1321, at the age of 56. It was believed he had contracted malaria in Venice.

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