Born in Florence, Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) is considered to be the father of Italian poetry and one of the greatest influences in world literature. His masterpiece, The Divine Comedy, is the zenith of medieval knowledge and a paragon of poetic imagination. Its first part, the Inferno, remains one of the most popular books of all time.
For sheer liveliness, combined with accuracy and closeness to the text, it will be hard to rival. - A.N. Wilson