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Name: Dante Alighieri
Born: 1256, Florence, Italy.
Died: 1321, Venice, Italy.
Notable Accomplishements: Wrote epic poem, Divine Comedy.
The Basics: Born to a well-to-do family.  He fell in love on first sight of Beatrice Portinari at age 9.  He saw her twice more, at ages 18 and 25.  He was the foremost poet of his day, and wrote the Comedy as a metaphor of his own spiritual journey.  Also a Florentine politician, Alighieri found himself in exile when the opposing Ghibelline faction overthrew the Guelf's.  He died in Venice, in 1321, having become the first great poet to write in the vernacular.
 
 
 

Dante Links

The Digital Dante
http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/projects/dante/index.html

Project Gutenberg Dante Resources
http://www.promo.net/pg/_authors/dante_alighieri_.html

Dante Aligheri on the Web
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/9039/

The Dartmouth Dante Project
http://galaxy.einet.net/hytelnet/FUL007.html
 

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