Who was Dante Alighieri?

“The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.”

Dante Alighieri, often simply referred to as Dante was an italian writer, philosopher and poet. His probably most famous and the greatest literary work in the Italian language is called: La Divina Commedia.

Quick facts:

• Born 1265, Florence

• Died 1321, Ravenna

• Period: Late Middle Ages

Dante's work was crucial to establishing the literature of Italy. His depictions of Hell, Purgatory and Heaven were the inspiration for Western art and literature. He used a mixture of Latin and regional dialects (especially Tuscan) as he aimed to reach a leadership throughout the whole of Italy, which strongly influenced the Italian language as we know it today.

Without Dante, Italy would not be the country we know today. He had a massive impact on both language and culture and anyone studying Italian will come across him sooner or later.