Biography of Dante Alighieri | Italian poet.

(Florence, 1265 - Ravenna, 1321) Italian poet. While his parents, Alighiero de Bellincione and Gabriella (Bella), belonged to the Florentine Guelph bourgeoisie, Dante said that he came from a noble family, and so did state in paradise (cantos XV and XVI), where he drew a family bond with their so-called ancestor Cacciaguida, who Knight would have been armed by the Emperor Conrado II, Duke of Swabia.
During his years of study Dante Alighieri coincided with the poet Guido Cavalcanti, representative of the dolce stil nuovo, about fifteen years older than him, who ordered and who became a disciple. As he explains in his autobiography more or less recreated poetically new life, in 1274 he saw for the first time to Beatriz Portinari, when she was eight years old and it just one more; passionate and platonic love of Dante would be held to coincide again with it nine years later.

Dante Alighieri
In 1285 Dante took part in the siege of Poggio di Santa Cecilia, defended by the aretinos, and two years later he moved to Bologna, perhaps to study, even though doubts have in relation to their passage through the University of that city. If there is evidence, on the other hand, their participation in quality of «feritore» horse, in the battle of Campaldino, which faced the Ghibellines of Arezzo.
Beatriz died in 1290, and a year later Dante contracted marriage to Gemma di Manetto, with whom he had four children. In 1295 he enrolled in the Guild of doctors and apothecaries, and starting from the month of November became interested by the Florentine municipal policy; between May and September of the following year was a member of the Council of the cent, and in 1298 participated in the signing of the Treaty of peace with Arezzo. In 1300, and quality of Ambassador, he moved to San Gimignano to negotiate the visit of representatives of the Guelph League in Florence, and between June 15 and Aug. 14 served as prior, maximum Florentine magistrates.
In October 1301, and after oppose sending troops to help the Pope Bonifacio VIII, Dante was appointed Ambassador to the Pope, who offered a peace treaty. The Pope, however, retained it in Rome against their will, with the intention of helping the Guelph faction opposed to Dante's Florence, sector that ultimately took control of the city and banished opponents. Accused of embezzlement, Dante was sentenced to fines, expropriation and exile, and later to death should he return to Florence.
From this date, Dante began a long exile that would last the rest of his life: he lived in Verona, Padua, Rimini, Lucca and, finally, Ravenna, city in which he was guest of Guido Novello of Polenta and where he remained until his death.
Works by Dante Alighieri
The influence of troubadour poetry and estilnovista on Dante Alighieri is reflected in his new life, set of poems and prose aimed at Beatriz, reason for the life of the poet and also their torments, and their Rime Petrose, targeting an alleged lover, who writes only to disguise his true love to others. Poetico-amoroso game ranges between the impossible passion and Spiritualized idealization of the figure of his beloved, although the rigid forms of the estilnovismo purchased new in the hands of Dante strength and sincerity.
The experimentalism of the poems of Dante Alighieri and the conscious of its own style search will finally culminate in The Divine Comedy, one of the peaks of world literature. Written in triplets, is summed up in her all the medieval Cosmology by the presentation of the route of the soul of Dante, guided first by Virgilio and later by Beatriz, in expiation of their sins in tres cantos: Hell, purgatory and paradise. With a vivid language and expressive richness, the poet mixes the symbolic elements with references to mythological, and historical characters to build a well-balanced and great synthesis of the knowledge accumulated by the man from classical antiquity to the middle ages.
Extracted from the website: Biografías y Vidas
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