Dante Alighieri (但丁) — The Pilgrim of the Divine Comedy
Dynasty: Late Middle Ages (1265-1321)
Exiled from Florence, wandering across northern Italy while forging the Divine Comedy.
Life Footprint & Journey Nodes
Florence, Tuscany, Italy (意大利佛罗伦萨 (初见与新生)) - Age 30
Cradle of the Italian Renaissance along the Arno River, Florence, Italy
A Nine-Year-Old Boy Struck by Divine Grace on the Arno
Born into Florence's lesser nobility. At nine years old, Dante caught his first glimpse of Beatrice Portinari. Following her untimely death in 1290, he wrote 'La Vita Nuova' (The New Life), establishing the Sweet New Style of Italian poetry.
My lady looks so gentle and so pure when she greets anyone.
我的女士显得何等温雅，何等圣洁，当她向众人致意问安时。 (Wǒ de nǚshì xiǎnde héděng wēnyǎ, héděng shèngjié, dāng tā xiàng zhòngrén zhìyì wèn'ān shí.)Campaldino Battlefield, Tuscany (意大利托斯卡纳坎帕尔迪诺古战场) - Age 24
Historic Casentino valley battlefield where young Dante fought, Tuscany, Italy
A Knight in Armor before He Became a Chronicler of Hell
Fighting as a front-line cavalryman for the Florentine Guelphs against the Ghibellines of Arezzo. Surviving intense combat, the grim sights of wounded soldiers and dying horses directly shaped his later descriptions of the circles of the Inferno.
I have seen cavalry move camp, and open the assault, and muster their array.
战旗招展，军号齐鸣，我曾亲见骑士们呼啸冲锋。 (Zhànqí zhāozhǎn, jūnhào qímíng, wǒ céng qīnjiàn qíshìmen hūxiào chōngfēng.)Rome & Vatican, Papal States (意大利罗马与教皇圣座) - Age 36
Seat of medieval Western Christendom and papal diplomacy, Rome, Italy
Ambassador at the Pope's Court, Betrayed from Behind
Elected as one of Florence's six Priors (supreme magistrates). Sent to Rome to negotiate with Pope Boniface VIII. The Pope detained Dante while covertly supporting the Black Guelphs to overthrow the government, sacking Dante's home.
There where Christ is bought and sold every day.
罗马看似神圣庄严，暗地里却将基督的尊严换作金银交易。 (Luómǎ kànsì shénshèng zhuāngyán, àndìlǐ què jiāng Jīdū de zūnyán huàn zuò jīnyín jiāoyì.)Siena & San Godenzo, Tuscany (意大利托斯卡纳锡耶纳 (火刑判决)) - Age 37
Historic Tuscan hill city where Dante first learned of his eternal exile from Florence
Condemned to be Burned at the Stake if He Returned
At Siena, Dante learned the Florentine tribunal had condemned him to death by fire on fabricated charges of graft. Meeting fellow exiles at San Godenzo, he refused their reckless violent plots, declaring he would form 'a party of his own'.
It will be well for you to have made a party by yourself.
脱离他们愚蠢的同盟，为你自己一人自成一党，实乃光荣之事！ (Tuōlí tāmen yúchǔn de tóngméng, wèi nǐ zìjǐ yī rén zìchéng yī dǎng, shí nǎi guāngróng zhī shì!)Verona, Veneto, Italy (意大利维罗纳 (他人之面包何其苦涩)) - Age 39
Ghibelline refuge city in northern Italy ruled by the Scaliger family
How Salty Tastes Another's Bread: The Refugee's Tear
Sheltered by Bartolomeo della Scala in Verona. In the grandeur of the Scaliger palace, Dante tasted the sting of dependency, writing the most iconic lines on exile in world literature.
You shall learn how salty tastes another's bread, and how steep a path it is to climb and descend another man's stairs.
你将体验到别人的面包尝起来有多咸，走上走下别人的楼梯是一条多么艰辛的道路。 (Nǐ jiāng tǐyàn dào biérén de miànbāo cháng qǐlái yǒu duō xián, zǒu shàng zǒu xià biérén de lóutī shì yī tiáo duōme jiānxīn de dàolù.)Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy (意大利博洛尼亚大学 (奠基俗语)) - Age 41
Ancient academic center and oldest university in the Western world, Italy
Crowning Common Speech: Fathering the Italian Language
Living among scholars at Bologna's ancient university. Dante wrote 'De vulgari eloquentia' and 'Il Convivio', boldly defending everyday vernacular Italian as worthy of the highest philosophical and literary expression.
Vernacular speech is the nobler, as being that which first was used by the human race.
俗语是尊贵的，因它源自最自然的乳汁，是我们用以拥抱世界的第一个声音。 (Súyǔ shì zūnguì de, yīn tā yuánzì zuì zìrán de rǔzhī, shì wǒmen yòng yǐ yōngbào shìjiè de dì-yī gè shēngyīn.)Lucca & Lunigiana, Tuscany (意大利托斯卡纳卢卡与鲁尼贾纳) - Age 43
Walled medieval republic in northern Tuscany, Italy
Abandon All Hope: Constructing the Nine Circles of Hell
Serving the Malaspina family as diplomat across mountainous Lunigiana. In this quiet seclusion, the Inferno took its finished poetic form, placing corrupt popes and cruel tyrants in their respective eternal circles.
Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.
来到这里的人，放弃一切希望吧！ (Láidào zhèlǐ de rén, fàngqì yīqiè xīwàng ba!)Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy (意大利拉文纳 (神曲终卷与仰望群星)) - Age 56
Byzantine mosaic jewel and Dante's final resting place on the Adriatic coast, Italy
The Love that Moves the Sun and the Other Stars
Protected by Prince Guido Novello da Polenta in Ravenna. Dante finished Paradiso, completing all 14,233 lines of the Divine Comedy. In 1321, returning from a diplomatic mission to Venice, he died of malaria and was laid to rest beside San Francesco.
The Love that moves the sun and the other stars.
是爱也，推动着太阳与其他的群星。 (Shì ài yě, tuīdòng zhe tàiyáng yǔ qítā de qúnxīng.)
