On this day 706 years ago, Dante Aligheri was sentenced to be burned at the stake, as a result of political disagreement with Pope Boniface VIII. At the time, Dante was aged 36. He had been sent from Florence, where he lived, to Rome as part of a delegation to ascertain the Pope’s intentions following political disputes in Florence. The other delegates were sent home, but Dante was ordered to remain in Rome.
While he was in Rome, all of Dante’s assets were seized. He managed to escape death by burning by going into exile, and he never saw his wife again. Embittered by his treatment at the hands of his enemies and by the treachery and infighting of his “allies”, he commenced work on the Divine Comedy. After 19 years in exile, he died in 1321 at the age of 56. After his death, Florence finally came to regret his exile and a tomb was built for him there, although his body remained in Ravenna.
The Divine Comedy tells the story of Dante’s journey through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven, beginning on Good Friday in the year 1300, lost in a dark wood. Dante is guided through the nine circles of Hell by the poet Virgil, leaving just before dawn on Easter Sunday. They then travel through the seven terraces of Purgatory, after which Virgil is replaced by Beatrice as Dante’s guide, and she leads him through the nine spheres of Heaven.