WRITER

Dante Alighieri

1265 - 1321

Photo of Dante Alighieri

Icon of person Dante Alighieri

Dante Alighieri (Italian: [ˈdante aliˈɡjɛːri]; c. May 1265 – September 14, 1321), most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and widely known and often referred to in English mononymously as Dante (English: , US: ), was an Italian poet, writer, and philosopher. His Divine Comedy, originally called Comedìa (modern Italian: Commedia) and later christened Divina by Giovanni Boccaccio, is widely considered one of the most important poems of the Middle Ages and the greatest literary work in the Italian language. Dante is known for establishing the use of the vernacular in literature at a time when most poetry was written in Latin, which was accessible only to educated readers. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Dante Alighieri has received more than 9,503,493 page views. His biography is available in 187 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 182 in 2019). Dante Alighieri is the 2nd most popular writer (up from 3rd in 2019), the 8th most popular biography from Italy and the most popular Italian Writer.

Dante Alighieri is most famous for writing the Divine Comedy, a three-part epic poem that tells the story of Dante's journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven.

Memorability Metrics

  • 9.5M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 89.54

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 187

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 15.21

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.82

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Vita nuova
Italian literature, Translations into English, Translations into Ukrainian
1829
Purgatorio
Purgatory, Poetry, Purgatory in literature
1768
The Divine Comedy
Open Library Staff Picks
The Divine Comedy (Italian: Divina Commedia) is an epic poem by Dante Alighieri, begun c. 1308 and completed 1320, a year before his death in 1321. It is widely considered the preeminent work of Italian literature[1] and is seen as one of the greatest works of world literature.[2] The poem's imaginative vision of the afterlife is representative of the medieval world-view as it had developed in the Western Church by the 14th century. It helped establish the Tuscan language, in which it is written, as the standardized Italian language.[3] It is divided into three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. On the surface, the poem describes Dante's travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise or Heaven;[4] but at a deeper level, it represents, allegorically, the soul's journey towards God.[5] At this deeper level, Dante draws on medieval Christian theology and philosophy, especially Thomistic philosophy and the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas.[6] Consequently, the Divine Comedy has been called "the Summa in verse".[7] The work was originally simply titled Comedìa and was later christened Divina by Giovanni Boccaccio. The first printed edition to add the word divina to the title was that of the Venetian humanist Lodovico Dolce,[8] published in 1555 by Gabriele Giolito de' Ferrari.
1806
Divina commedia
Dictionaries, Iconography, Facsimiles
An epic Italian poem written between 1308 and 1321, The Divine Comedy was considered to be a prominent piece during its time and is regarded as one of the masterpieces of world literature. This poem focuses on the afterlife and provides vivid descriptions and creative allegory.
1484
Inferno
Hell, Poetry, Illustrations
Dante, after becoming lost on the path of life, is led by Virgil into Hell to begin his journey back to the light of God.
1782
Paradiso
Poetry, Heaven, Paradise
1595
Purgatorio
Purgatory, Poetry, Purgatory in literature
"Purgatorio relates in thirty-three cantos Dante's progress, still with Virgil as his guide, up the mountain of purgatory, where souls expiate their sins before they enter heaven. As hell has circles, purgatory has terraces, one above the other, each representing one of the seven mortal sins. In each, an appropriate type of penance is practiced, and the spirit ascending the mountain must cleanse itself of each sin of which it is guilty.". "Since Robert Hollander is a master teacher whose achievements as a Dante scholar are unsurpassed in the English-speaking world, the introduction and commentaries that accompany each canto offer superb guidance in essential matters of comprehension and interpretation."--BOOK JACKET.
1768
Paradiso
Poetry, Heaven, Paradise
1595
Divina Commedia
Iconography, Italian literature, Italian language
Belonging in the immortal company of the great works of literature, Dante Alighieri’s poetic masterpiece, *The Divine Comedy* (Italian: *Divina Commedia),* is a moving human drama, an unforgettable visionary journey through the infinite torment of Hell, up the arduous slopes of Purgatory, and on to the glorious realm of Paradise—the sphere of universal harmony and eternal salvation.
1484
Divina Commedia
Iconography, Italian literature, Italian language
Belonging in the immortal company of the great works of literature, Dante Alighieri’s poetic masterpiece, *The Divine Comedy* (Italian: *Divina Commedia),* is a moving human drama, an unforgettable visionary journey through the infinite torment of Hell, up the arduous slopes of Purgatory, and on to the glorious realm of Paradise—the sphere of universal harmony and eternal salvation.
1484
Inferno
Poetry, Hell, Illustrations
Dante, after becoming lost on the path of life, is led by Virgil into Hell to begin his journey back to the light of God.
1782
Divine Comedy
Poetry (poetic works by one author)
2010
Vita nuova
Italian literature, Translations into English, Translations into Ukrainian
1829
Divine Comedy
Poetry (poetic works by one author)
2010
Paradiso
Poetry, Heaven, Paradise
1595
Vita nuova
Italian literature, Translations into English, Translations into Ukrainian
1829
Vita nuova
Italian literature, Translations into English, Translations into Ukrainian
1829
Purgatorio
Purgatory, Poetry, Purgatory in literature
"Purgatorio relates in thirty-three cantos Dante's progress, still with Virgil as his guide, up the mountain of purgatory, where souls expiate their sins before they enter heaven. As hell has circles, purgatory has terraces, one above the other, each representing one of the seven mortal sins. In each, an appropriate type of penance is practiced, and the spirit ascending the mountain must cleanse itself of each sin of which it is guilty.". "Since Robert Hollander is a master teacher whose achievements as a Dante scholar are unsurpassed in the English-speaking world, the introduction and commentaries that accompany each canto offer superb guidance in essential matters of comprehension and interpretation."--BOOK JACKET.
1768
Divina Commedia
Iconography, Italian literature, Italian language
Belonging in the immortal company of the great works of literature, Dante Alighieri’s poetic masterpiece, *The Divine Comedy* (Italian: *Divina Commedia),* is a moving human drama, an unforgettable visionary journey through the infinite torment of Hell, up the arduous slopes of Purgatory, and on to the glorious realm of Paradise—the sphere of universal harmony and eternal salvation.
1484
Divine Comedy
Poetry (poetic works by one author)
2010
Paradiso
Poetry, Heaven, Paradise
1595
Inferno
Poetry, Hell, Illustrations
Dante, after becoming lost on the path of life, is led by Virgil into Hell to begin his journey back to the light of God.
1782
Inferno
Poetry, Hell, Illustrations
Dante, after becoming lost on the path of life, is led by Virgil into Hell to begin his journey back to the light of God.
1782
Purgatorio
Purgatory, Poetry, Purgatory in literature
"Purgatorio relates in thirty-three cantos Dante's progress, still with Virgil as his guide, up the mountain of purgatory, where souls expiate their sins before they enter heaven. As hell has circles, purgatory has terraces, one above the other, each representing one of the seven mortal sins. In each, an appropriate type of penance is practiced, and the spirit ascending the mountain must cleanse itself of each sin of which it is guilty.". "Since Robert Hollander is a master teacher whose achievements as a Dante scholar are unsurpassed in the English-speaking world, the introduction and commentaries that accompany each canto offer superb guidance in essential matters of comprehension and interpretation."--BOOK JACKET.
1768

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Dante Alighieri ranks 2 out of 7,302. Before him are Homer. After him are William Shakespeare, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Edgar Allan Poe, Fyodor Dostoevsky, J. R. R. Tolkien, Lord Byron, Voltaire, Hans Christian Andersen, Leo Tolstoy, and Victor Hugo.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1265, Dante Alighieri ranks 1. After him are Duns Scotus, Beatrice Portinari, Temür Khan, Andrew III of Hungary, Alfonso III of Aragon, Henry of Bohemia, Emperor Fushimi, Ramon Muntaner, Lucia, Countess of Tripoli, María de Molina, and Otto III, Duke of Carinthia. Among people deceased in 1321, Dante Alighieri ranks 1. After him are Yunus Emre, Stefan Milutin, Matthew III Csák, Birger, King of Sweden, María de Molina, and Ibn al-Banna' al-Marrakushi.

Others Born in 1265

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Others Deceased in 1321

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In Italy

Among people born in Italy, Dante Alighieri ranks 8 out of 5,161. Before him are Marco Polo (1254), Galileo Galilei (1564), Christopher Columbus (1451), Julius Caesar (-100), Michelangelo (1475), and Archimedes (-287). After him are Augustus (-63), Raphael (1483), Antonio Vivaldi (1678), Niccolò Machiavelli (1469), Giuseppe Verdi (1813), and Commodus (161).

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Among WRITERS In Italy

Among writers born in Italy, Dante Alighieri ranks 1. After him are Virgil (-70), Petrarch (1304), Ovid (-43), Giovanni Boccaccio (1313), Horace (-65), Giacomo Casanova (1725), Umberto Eco (1932), Giorgio Vasari (1511), Guillaume Apollinaire (1880), Plautus (-254), and Cato the Elder (-243).

Italian born Writers

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