Italy’s most famous poet, Dante Alighieri, was forced from his native town of Florence because of his political affiliation. This is the assertion from a group of lawyers in May 2021, despite the exile taking place over 700 years ago.

The father of the Italian language was exiled in 1302 and later sentenced to death following a coup by his political rivals and allies to the Pope, the Black Guelfs. The sentence that led to his exile was re-examined in Florence on Friday, as part of initiatives for the 700th anniversary of the poet's death.