FLORIN WEBSITE © JULIA BOLTON HOLLOWAY, AUREO ANELLO ASSOCIATION, 1997-2010:  FLORENCE'S 'ENGLISH' CEMETERY || BIBLIOTECA E BOTTEGA FIORETTA MAZZEI || ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING || WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR || FLORENCE IN SEPIA  ||  BRUNETTO LATINO, DANTE ALIGHIERI AND GEOFFREY CHAUCER || E-BOOKS || ANGLO-ITALIAN STUDIES || CITY AND BOOK I, II, III, IV, V || NON-PROFIT GUIDE TO COMMERCE IN FLORENCE || AUREO ANELLO, CATALOGUE

Come with us through this door.

DANTE IN FLORENCE




Dante was born in May 1265 in this house looking on to the little church dedicated to St Martin, founded centuries earlier by Irish pilgrims. On the other side of the square is a great tower, the Torre della Castagna, which would become the Tower of the Priors.



Next to that is the large abbey, the Badia, of Florence. Arnolfo di Cambio's father had recently built the great Bargello opposite the Badia.





On Easter Saturday 1266 Dante's parents would have taken him to the Baptistery, the oldest building in Florence, walking down the Cobblers' Street, coming to the tombs that then lay all scattered about the octagonal building.

Held in his godmother's arms, this is what the toddler would have seen through the poured blessed water, while he was being named 'Dante', which means 'gift'.



The great mosaiced dome inside the roof of the Baptistery, begun in 1225, gives the entire Bible, teaching young Florentines the Word of God.

Dante's father, Alighiero Bellincone, died while he was still young. His mother brought him to the renowned teacher of Florence, Brunetto Latino, who became his guardian, overseeing his education.

Brunetto, before Dante was born, in 1260, had gone to the court of King Alfonso el Sabio in Spain to seek help for Florence against Siena at Montaperti, and then had had to live in exile until


He loved books, learning how to make fine illuminated manuscripts from Alfonso.

This is Alfonso's manuscript, Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, he gave to Florence and which Brunetto would have shown to the young Dante. It is still in Florence, in the Biblioteca Nazionale.



Brunetto in turn created such manuscripts, first in France in exile, called Li Livres dou Tresor, and written in French,



then in Florence, called Il Tesoro, written in Italian.

 

DANTE PORTAL


FLORIN WEBSITE © JULIA BOLTON HOLLOWAY, AUREO ANELLO ASSOCIATION, 1997-2010:  FLORENCE'S 'ENGLISH' CEMETERY || BIBLIOTECA E BOTTEGA FIORETTA MAZZEI || ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING || WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR || FLORENCE IN SEPIA  ||  BRUNETTO LATINO, DANTE ALIGHIERI AND GEOFFREY CHAUCER || E-BOOKS || ANGLO-ITALIAN STUDIES || CITY AND BOOK I, II, III, IV || NON-PROFIT GUIDE TO COMMERCE IN FLORENCE || AUREO ANELLO, CATALOGUE