In the above image we see Dante holding his book, “The Divine Comedy”, with “Mount Purgatory” and the city of Florence in the background.

Probably the most familiar image of Dante

When I was in Florence, I lived in Dante Alighieri’s neighbourhood.  For those of you who might be a little rusty on your Italian poetic history, Dante is regarded as one of the greatest early Italian poets and is known as “the Supreme Poet” (il Sommo Poeta). He lived in Florence in the late 13th century, before he was exiled from the city for political reasons.  It was during his exile that he wrote what is considered to be one of the most important poetic works in the Italian language, “The Divine Comedy,” which tells of his imaginary voyage through hell, purgatory, and finally heaven.  I guess I was a bit optimistic when I downloaded this medieval masterpiece to…