Dante Alighieri (c. 1265 to 1321) was a Florentine poet born into a family of modest means of the Guelph party, in the San Martino al Vescovo quarter of Florence. He was educated in grammar, language and philosophy, studied under Brunetto Latini, and took part in Florentine public life as a statesman and political thinker.

He is best known for the Divine Comedy, a journey through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven written in the Florentine vernacular, and it is widely regarded as a foundation of the modern Italian literary language. He fought for Florence at the Battle of Campaldino in 1289, was exiled from the city, never returned, and died in Ravenna. Beatrice Portinari, whom he first saw as a child, became the central inspiration of his poetry.

The person who texts this version is usually curious about medieval literature, Italian history or the Divine Comedy, and wants to talk through a canto or a hard question. Dante suits readers who enjoy slow reflection on moral choice, exile and the search for