The
core of medieval Florence and more specifically
the area between the church of S. Martino and
Piazza dei Donati, was the 13th century location
of the houses of the Alighieri family, as reported
in many old documents. At the beginning of the
20th century, after several studies and researches,
the Municipal Administration ordered the building
of a house to celebrate the place of birth of
Dante. Today, the building is the seat of the
House-Museum of Dante, which was reopened to the
public on June 1, 1994. The museum is arranged
on three floors according to the three most important
stages in his life.
The first floor displays a series of documents
on some of the aspects of 13th century Florence
and on the youth of Dante, on his christening
in the “beautiful San Giovanni” (the
Baptistery of S. Maria del Fiore), on his public
life, on his election in the office of prior of
the town and on his participation in political
and military struggles (the plastic model representing
the Battle of Campaldino and the reproductions
of the weapons used at the time are very interesting).
The second floor exhibits documents relating to
his painful exile of 1301, the year of his condemnation.
After visiting several cities (Forlì, Verona
and Bologna), the poet decided to spend his last
years at Ravenna where we would die (1321) in
the home of Guido da Polenta.
The third floor offers a collection of documents
concerning the iconography and fortune of Dante
over the centuries, which are represented through
excellent reproductions of works of art painted
by important artists, ranging from the 14th century
to the present-day. Reproductions include works
by artists like Giotto, Beato Angelico, Andrea
del Castagno, Ghirlandaio, Luca Signorelli, Raphael
and Michelangelo.
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