Museo Casa di Dante

The Museo Casa di Dante interprets the poet's life, writing and political world in Florence. It belongs to the city's commemoration of Dante's birthplace tradition rather than offering an unchanged domestic interior from his lifetime.

Why it matters

The museum connects the Divine Comedy with the medieval city in which its author grew up and held public office. Its narrative brings together Dante the citizen, soldier, exile and poet.

What to notice

The exhibition uses images, documents and multimedia reconstructions to present medieval Florence and Dante's biography. The battle of Campaldino and the world of the Commedia form contrasting subjects: one concerns the poet's public life, the other the imaginative and literary work through which he is remembered.

Context and history

Dante was born in Florence in 1265, was condemned to exile in 1302 and died in Ravenna in 1321. The museum opened in May 1965 through the work of the Unione Fiorentina, founded in 1949, with civic and private support. A new multimedia presentation inaugurated in June 2020 added another chapter to the institution's interpretation of the poet.