Dante Alighieri was born in Florence in 1265, at a time when wealthy families and rival political factions constantly struggled for control of the city. He received a broad literary and philosophical education and entered public life. In 1300 he served as one of Florence's priors, among the highest offices in its republican government.

Politics eventually cost him his home. When a rival faction gained power in 1302, Dante was convicted of alleged offences and banished from Florence. He never returned. During his years of exile he composed his greatest work, the Commedia, later called the Divine Comedy. In this extraordinary poem, a fictional version of the author journeys through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise, guided by the Roman poet Virgil and by Beatrice.

The work brings together medieval theology, classical literature and fierce criticism of political and ecclesiastical corruption. Dante did not hesitate to place popes and other powerful contemporaries within his imagined afterlife. His decision to write in the Tuscan vernacular, rather than scholarly Latin, also helped shape the future Italian language. Dante died in Ravenna in 1321. His poetry has endured as an exploration of faith, power, justice and human responsibility.