Biography Dante Alighieri's life outside of the public was not well documented; we know so little about his private life that his birth date must be estimated from his writing. According to L'Inferno, his journey began halfway through his life, which can be assumed to be the average of seventy years. As his journey started in the year 1300, his birth year is around 1265. Dante's family was fairly well off in society: his father Alighiero Alighieri was a moneylender and a property holder. When Dante was young, his mother Bella passed away; Alighiero remarried and had two more children. Dante was born in Florence, Italy, a city fiercely split between supporters …show more content…
With Gemma he had three sons and a daughter. Though he was married to Gemma, his true love was Beatrice Portinari, whom he met around 1274, when he was nine years old. For the rest of his life Beatrice would be his muse; she featured a major role in La Divina Commedia. Dante: Personal Life Throughout his life, Dante took an interest in poetry and philosophy. When he was sixteen, he studied at the prominent universities in Padua and Bologna. There he was likely exposed to the works of Virgil, who would later become another very important character in the Commedia. A few years later Dante met two important mentors in his life, Guido Cavalcanti and Brunetto Latini. These men act as friends and teachers to the young poet, and guide his …show more content…
The Holy Roman Empire and the Papacy were both prominent and hostile, and northern Italy, the border between the two powers, was frequently divided between the two. In Florence especially, two factions emerged: the Guelphs, who supported the Pope, and the Ghibellines, who supported the Empire. In the Battle of Campaldino in 1289, in which Dante fought, the Ghibellines were defeated. This, however, did little to ease Florentine politics; the Guelphs divided among themselves into the Blacks and Whites, and the Whites, whom Dante supported, were expelled from