Celebrated as a poet from his youth, when he was among those whose writings in Italian were applauded for their “sweet new style,” Dante was also an influential literary and political theorist. After years of a wandering and uncertain life, Dante finally settled in Ravenna in 1318. He was never to see Florence again, and was later banished from the city and sentenced to death. Florence was at the time caught in a bitter struggle between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines-as well as between contending factions within those political parties-and in 1301, having been sent on an embassy to the Pope in Rome, Dante learned that his enemies had come to power. He fought as a cavalryman, served in a variety of civic and diplomatic positions, and in 1300 attained a preeminent place in the administration of his native city. Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) was born into a noble family in Florence.
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