Casa di Dante
Via Santa Margherita 1 (at Via Dante Alighieri)
Florence, Italy
Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) lived in Florence until he was banished for political reasons in 1302, never to return.
During his exile, Dante wrote The Divine Comedy, his mythical journey through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. The epic poem is filled with Dante's contemporaries, in addition to mythological creatures and religious figures.
Casa di Dante, a small museum, set in a palazzo once owned by the Alighieri family, contains a sparse assemblage of portraits and first editions. The surrounding streets - pictured below after the the first four photos of the city wall - are well preserved from Dante's time. They include
- Via dei Cerchi
- Via Dante Alighieri
- Via Cimatori (named for the final production stage of woolen cloth ("cimatura") when rough cloth was dried and finished off; the people who did this work were based here).
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Remains of the city wall - crucial for defense before the invention of gunpowder |
Remains of the city wall |
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Note battlement |
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"I was born and raised a Florentine on the green and lovely banks of Arno's waters." Translated by John Ciardi. |
Typical narrow street during the Middle Ages |
Some of the tie rods that extend through the house |
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Casa di Dante |
Casa di Dante: well for water |
Casa di Dante - bust of Dante |
Casa di Dante |
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Casa di Dante |
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