Written between 12 in commemoration of Beatrice’s death, Vita Nuova ( The New Life) reflects Dante’s first effort to depict her as an abstract model of love and beauty. Stricken with grief, he committed himself to the study of philosophical works of Boethius, Cicero, and Aristotle, and earnestly wrote poetry, establishing his own poetic voice in innovative canzoni, or lyrical poems. Beatrice, with whom Dante remained in love, died in 1290.

In 1287, Dante enrolled in the University of Bologna, but by 1289 he enlisted in the Florentine army and took part in the Battle of Campaldino. As arranged by his parents, both of whom died during his childhood, Dante wed Gemma di Manetto Donati around 1285 the couple is known to have had at least three children. During his teens, Dante demonstrated a keen interest in literature he undertook an apprenticeship with Brunetto Latini, a celebrated poet and prose writer of vernacular Italian, and befriended the poet Guido Cavalcanti. Dante said that when Beatrice greeted him in passing nine years later, his love was confirmed. At the age of nine he purportedly, briefly glimpsed the eight-year-old Beatrice Portinari and, struck by her beauty, fell in love. Scholars surmise that he received formal instruction in grammar, language, and philosophy at one of the Franciscan schools in the city. Divided into three sections- Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso- The Divine Comedy presents an encyclopedic overview of the mores, attitudes, beliefs, philosophies, aspirations, and material aspects of the medieval world.īorn in Florence, Italy around 1265, Dante was the son of Alighiero di Bellincione Alighieri and Bella di Abati, and he grew up among Florentine aristocracy. Italian poet and scholar Dante Alighieri is best known for his masterpiece La Commedia (known in English as The Divine Comedy), which is universally considered one of world literature’s greatest poems.

Inferno dante alighieri