Dante Alighieri was born in the city-state of Florence in 1265, sometime, according to his Vita Nova, under the sign of Gemini. Born to a family of little note and wealth, he is now considered one of the greatest poets in the Italian language, and he forms the classic trio of Italian authors with the comic storyteller Boccaccio and the poet Petrarch. Much of our knowledge of him comes from his Vita Nova, in which he recounts his life as it relates to his tragic love for Beatrice, who features prominently in much of his work. He first saw Beatrice when he was almost nine years old and she was some months younger. Beatrice went on to marry another man, Simone di' Bardi, who was a...
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