Dante Alighieri was born in Florence between 14 May and 13 June 1265 and died in Ravenna during the night between 13 and 14 September 1321. His real baptismal name was Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri, but he became universally known through the shorter form Dante.
Dante Alighieri is considered the greatest poet of medieval Italy and one of the essential founders of Italian literature. His importance comes not only from the Divine Comedy, but also from his political writings, his defense of the vernacular, and his transformation of exile into literary geography.
