Dante Alighieri

Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) was an Italian poet, man of letters and political thinker, born into a declining noble family in Florence. In 1300 he served as one of Florence's six chief magistrates, and in 1302 he was exiled and never returned. During exile he completed his masterpiece, the epic Divine Comedy, divided into Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. Written in Tuscan vernacular, it weaves together theology, philosophy and political thought, with striking imagination and strict structure, and laid the foundation for the Italian literary language. His other works include La Vita Nuova, Convivio, De Vulgari Eloquentia and De Monarchia, dealing with poetry, language and government. His writing spans literature, politics and thought, is concise and rich in symbolism, and has deeply influenced later European literature.