Dante Alighieri: History and Influence of Italy’s Greatest Poet
- Yana Evans
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Dante Alighieri was born in 1265 in Florence, Italy. He grew up in a noble but not wealthy family that was deeply involved in Florentine politics. As a boy Dante married Gemma Donati (around 1285) and later fell in love (from afar) with Beatrice Portinari, who became his muse. Florence in Dante’s youth was a turbulent city of Guelph and Ghibelline factions. Dante himself joined the White Guelph party and held public offices – even serving as one of the city’s Priors in 1300. However, after quarrels between the White and rival Black Guelphs (supported by Pope Boniface VIII), Dante was exiled from Florence in 1302. He never returned; instead he wandered through Italy writing poetry.
Contrary to some legends, Dante had no connection to the later Borgia dynasty. Dante died in 1321 – over a century before Rodrigo Borgia became Pope Alexander VI in 1492 (and long before the Borgia family’s rise in the late 15th century). In other words, any supposed “meeting of Dante and the Borgias” is pure myth.
Florence today still brims with places to feel Dante’s story. Wander the medieval lanes of the Santa Croce quarter, and you’ll soon find Casa di Dante (on Via Santa Margherita), a small museum in what tradition holds was his childhood home. Nearby stands the Palazzo Vecchio (old Town Hall), where Dante once served as a city official. In Piazza Santa Croce, an imposing 19th-century statue by Enrico Pazzi was erected to honor Dante (Florence’s “supreme poet”) on the 600th anniversary of his birth. (Picture a laurel-crowned Dante holding the Commedia with an eagle at his feet!)
Be sure to snap a photo here – this is one of Dante’s most famous memorials. Other spots to visit include the medieval Baptistery of San Giovanni (where Dante was likely baptized), and the lively Mercato Sant’Ambrogio neighborhood, which dates back to Dante’s time.
Dante and the Italian Language
Dante is often called “il padre della lingua italiana” – the father of the Italian language . At a time when most learning and literature were in Latin (or the French/Provençal of poets), Dante boldly wrote his great works in the Tuscan vernacular. He even penned a treatise De Vulgari Eloquentia (1304) arguing that Italian (then a patchwork of dialects) could become a serious literary tongue . By choosing his native Tuscan dialect (the Florentine variety) for Vita Nuova and especially The Divine Comedy, Dante set a precedent. Future masters like Petrarch and Boccaccio followed suit, and this standardization of Florentine Tuscan ultimately evolved into today’s modern Italian. Thanks to Dante’s literary prestige, Florentines can rightfully take pride: the way they speak became the template for all Italians.
The Divine Comedy and Cultural Pilgrimage
Dante’s masterpiece, The Divine Comedy, is a 14th-century epic poem in three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. It describes Dante’s imaginative pilgrimage: led first by the Roman poet Virgil through Hell and Purgatory, and then by Beatrice into Paradise. Inferno (Hell) is the most famous section, but Purgatorio and Paradiso complete the journey to spiritual redemption. The poem is written in terza rima (a three-line rhyme scheme Dante pioneered) and brims with Florentine history and universal themes of love, justice, and destiny. With a guidebook like Virgil by his side and Beatrice’s gentle hand to lead in the end, Dante’s own voice travels the cosmos.
The Divine Comedy became a cornerstone of Italian and world literature. Renaissance and Romantic writers admired it endlessly. As one scholar notes, Dante’s choice of Tuscan helped create a unified literary language beyond Latin. In fact, Dante’s work set a precedent for using Italian at the highest level of art. He is often credited as the greatest Italian author and “the father of our language”. Visiting Italy with Dante in mind, you’re following in the footsteps of a pioneer who turned a local dialect into the language of a nation.
Florence
Start where it all began. Although Dante’s actual tomb was never built here, Florence honors him. In Piazza Santa Croce you’ll see the statue of Dante (standing before the Basilica of Santa Croce, where many of Florence’s greats lie). Nearby, the historic Palazzo Vecchio houses Renaissance frescoes and even displays an “empty tomb” of Dante (a symbolic memorial without his remains). Don’t miss the Casa di Dante museum (Via Santa Margherita), which recreates medieval Florence and displays early manuscripts and life-sized Infierno scenes. You can also visit the Bargello Palace, where a portrait supposedly of Dante (attributed to Giotto’s workshop) is kept. Of course, soaking in the city itself – the Duomo, bridges, markets – is like entering Dante’s world.
Ravenna
This small city was Dante’s home in exile, and it holds his tomb. In 1781 a neoclassical mausoleum was built next to the Basilica of San Francesco to shelter Dante’s original sarcophagus. (Inside, a marble relief shows Dante leaning on a lectern.) Unlike Florence’s empty memorial, this is his real resting place. Visiting now, you’ll find the tomb in a quiet cloister (sanctuaries in Ravenna are treated very reverently). It’s a simple but powerful site – plan for a moment of reflection there .
Tip: Ravenna is a UNESCO treasure for its Byzantine mosaics. After the solemn Dante tomb, enjoy the gorgeous mosaics of San Vitale and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in town.
Verona
Dante spent several years in nearby Verona under the patronage of Cangrande della Scala. In Piazza dei Signori stands a marble statue of Dante (erected 1865) under the arches of the Scaliger tombs. Cangrande was so important to Dante that Paradiso is dedicated to him. In Verona you can also see the Torre dei Lamberti and Scaligeri monuments that evoke Dante’s time. Every spring, the city even hosts Dante-themed events and readings for “Dantedì” (his national celebration day, April 25). It’s a charming place to toast the poet with a gelato as you imagine him wandering the same piazza.
Rome
Dante was in Rome only once (in 1301, as part of a Florentine embassy to the Pope), but the city has tributes. The Casa di Dante in Rome is a cultural center housed in a medieval tower (Palazzo degli Anguillara) on the Tiber. Founded in 1914 and set up here in 1920, it hosts Dante lectures and has a small museum. While in Rome, don’t miss that Divine Comedy is present even in the Vatican: Raphael included Dante’s portrait in the Stanza della Segnatura frescoes (1600s) among the great thinkers of history. (So if you tour the Vatican Museums, look for Dante’s profile in the Disputation of the Holy Sacrament.) In short, Rome’s history and Dante’s poem intersect in intriguing ways.
Walking Through Dante Alighieri’s History and Influence in Italy
Visiting these cities turns Dante’s Divine Comedy from pages of literature into a living travel experience. Wander Dante’s Florence, honor him in Ravenna, and trace his Florentine dialect in every conversation. Each stop offers a fresh cultural insight: from Florentine cuisine (try pappa al pomodoro or bistecca alla Fiorentina) to Ravenna’s piadina flatbread, Italy’s flavors enhance your pilgrimage. Along the way, you’ll experience Dante Alighieri’s history and influence firsthand—through language, landmarks, and the enduring pride Italians feel for their literary icon. Carry a pocket Italian phrasebook, book tickets to the Casa di Dante or Ravenna’s mausoleum in advance if possible, and take time to simply sit in a piazza and read a few lines of Inferno. By the end of your journey, you’ll feel you’ve not only toured Dante’s Italy, but also traveled through his timeless words.
