Pitti Palace
In the birthplace of Dante Alighieri, the father of the Italian language, today there is a building rebuilt in 1911 that houses the Casa di Dante, the Dante House Museum.
Dante’s house no longer exists, but the places frequented by the poet are still imbued with his presence and the charm of medieval Florence.
“The Supreme Poet“, author of The Divine Comedy, was a man of great passions.
In Florence, in the places where his museum is now located, Dante experienced the fire of love for Beatrice and a strong passion for politics and poetry.
In Dante’s time, Florence was a tangle of medieval streets, and the old town did not look like it does today.
Tradition tells us that Dante was baptized in the Baptistry of San Giovanni, because the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore had not yet been built.
Dante himself wrote that he had lived “in the shadow of the Badia Fiorentina“, in the parish of St. Martin (parrocchia di San Martino).
We know very little about his family, but certainly a strong and stormy nature was common to all members of the Alighieri family!
Medieval chronicles tell of a bitter dispute with the priest of the parish of St. Martin.
The discussion concerned a fig tree belonging to the land of the Alighieri family, which had damaged a wall of the adjacent church with its roots.
So strong was the stubbornness of the Alighieri family that the matter was even submitted to the bishop of Florence!
Dante frequently visited these sites when he lived in Florence, that is, until the age of thirty, when he was forced into exile because of his political beliefs.
At the time of Dante, Florence was inflamed by a political struggle between the Guelphs and Ghibellines.
The poet belonged to the faction of White Guelphs and was very active in defending his beliefs.
In The Divine Comedy, Dante spoke with respect of Farinata degli Uberti, leader of the rival faction, and criticized the destruction of his home in Florence, which was located where the Palazzo Vecchio stands today.
Dante was a true Florentine, sanguine, passionate and deeply loved his city.
He also loved his fellow citizens, although he condemned their behavior to such an extent that many of them were placed in Hell…
In the Casa di Dante, Robert Langdon searches for a copy of The Divine Comedy.
If you are interested in reading a good, easy to understand rendition of The Divine Comedy which includes several drawings selected from Botticelli’s series of illustrations, we reccommend the Mandelbaum edition:
The Divine Comedy
by Dante Alighieri
Commentary by American professor Allen Mandelbaum, a popular modern rendition which includes 42 Botticelli’s illustrations
.
by Dante Alighieri
Commentary by American professor Allen Mandelbaum, a popular modern rendition which includes 42 Botticelli’s illustrations
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Picture by aphextim
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I was in Florence last month and my guide told me this was Dante’s actual house and that it had been shortened to half its original height when a law was passed that privately owned houses were not allowed to be taller than 90 feet.
Sad to know that this house was built in 1911. Guides are licenced in Italy to guide in certain areas. Someone should monitor the info the guides put forth.
Yes James, that is just the original site where once stood the house of the Alighieri family, the original building no longer exists. We are sorry that you had wrong information, unfortunately this sometimes happens in every city in the world …