Dante Alighieri

Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), known mostly as (just) Dante, was an Italian poet and philosopher. He is known for establishing the use of the vernacular in poetry at a time when most was written in Latin, which was accessible only to educated readers. Dante was instrumental in establishing the literature of Italy, and is considered to be among the country's national poets and the Western world's greatest literary icons. His depictions of hell, purgatory, and heaven provided inspiration for the larger body of Western art and literature. He influenced English writers such as Geoffrey Chaucer, John Milton and Alfred Tennyson, among many others.