Allegoria Morale, Ecclesiastica, Politica Nelle Due Prime Cantiche Della Divina Commedia Di Dante Allighieri (1864) Book

Every so often you find a book that has a cache of hidden jems. This is one of those books. As a fan of Dante this book provided a novice reader such as myself with a lot of background that is missing in other texts. For example, I knew because Faranata had betrayed Florence he was condemned to hell. What I did not understand was the extent of the betrayal. Once I understood what he did I understood why he deserved the place he was put.

Of course, anyone with any familiarity with Dante understands the Ghibellines, White Geulphs, and Black Guelphs. What I did not know were the details in how they rose up in Florence. This books provides that detail.

The book also provides some great stories about Dante the person. There are many anecdotes and stories about his life. Some I had known and others were new.

Admittedly, the last few chapters of this book are not quite that good. Many pages are just lists of chapters and their contents of Dante's work. There are also chapters that go on and on about various editions and translations. I am sure that is of interest to someone, unfortunately I am not that person. There is also a chapter on various portraits of Dante that I found to be boring.

Overall, however, I would encourage any Dante fan to read this book if you have not done so already. If you are more than just a novice Dante reader much of the information may already be known to you.