The city of Florence is filled with majestic monuments, art, buildings and museums, one of which is the Dante’s House Museum. Located in the heart of the historic center of Florence, more precisely in Via Santa Margherita, Dante’s House Museum is one of the most beloved tourist attractions and a museum that is definitely worth visiting.
Let’s find out something more about Dante’s House Museum in Florence and why you should add it to your itinerary!
Dante Alighieri: the Literary Luminary
Born in 1265 in a middle-class family, Dante Alighieri is one of the most important Italian poets and a politician. He began writing poetry at a very young age and he met his muse, Beatrice, at the age of nine. Most of Dante’s poetry is dedicated to her. At the time, Latin was considered to be the superior language, whilst Italian was thought of as vernacular. Along with a group called the “Stilnovisti ”, Dante helped create vernacular poetry, showing that Italian was a valid language for poetry. This later on helped shape the Italian language, which is considered to start from his masterpiece: the Divine Comedy.
Tracing Dante’s footsteps: the Museum’s historical significance
As documented, the Alighieri Family used to live in an area located near Piazza Donati and the Church of San Martino, but historians don’t know for sure if the building that the Museum is in nowadays was actually the building where Dante lived.
Sources say that their actual home of Dante used to be in a building, located near the Chestnut Tower, that was later on destroyed. The Museum’s building embodies the Torre dei Giuochi located near the Church of Santa Margherita de’ Cerchi, the place where apparently Dante saw his muse Beatrice for the first time.
Inside Dante’s house museum: a three-floor journey
The Dante’s House Museum nowadays celebrates the birthplace of Dante and it was first opened to the public in 1911. It spreads over three floors, where you will be able to explore Dante’s most fundamental stages in his life. Here’s what you will be able to find on each floor:
- FIRST FLOOR: On this floor, you will be able to see what happened in the early years of Dante’s life, such as his christening in the Baptistery of Santa Maria del Fiore.
- SECOND FLOOR: On this floor, you will explore the hardest years of Dante’s life, starting with his 1301 exile and his travels through Forlì, Verona and Ravenna, where he died in 1321.
- THIRD FLOOR: On this floor, you will be able to find some documents about Dante’s life and works of art about him made by artists like Raffaello Sanzio, Michelangelo, Giotto and many more.
Opening times:
Dante’s House Museum is open from Tuesdays to Fridays (10:00 AM to 05:00 PM) and on Saturdays and Sundays (10:00 AM to 06:00 PM) from November 1st to March 31st. During the Summertime, starting April 1st to October 31st, the Museum is open every day from 10:00 AM to 06:00 PM.
Conclusion
Visiting Dante’s House Museum in Florence is definitely a must if you want to fully immerse yourself in the beauty of Italian history. If you want to get to know more about the city of Florence and Italy in general, make sure you check out our other blogs and book a Florence tour with us!
