Dante Alighieri (1265 - 1321) one of the most illustrious poets and thinkers of the Middle Ages, was trained as well as his encyclopedic knowledge, characteristic of the culture of that time, at the School of Brunetto Latini, famous teacher of rhetoric. In subsequent years, surrendered to the study of philosophical and political doctrines of scholasticism, as he reached the old doctrines knowledge especially through the reading of Boethius (Philosophiae consolationis libri V) and Cicero (De amicitia). In the cultural circles of Florence was known primarily for his work Vita nuova, which followed the poetic way of dolce stil nuovo. Dante's determined opposition to the policy of Pope Boniface VIII led to his being expelled from Florence (1300). During his long exile, spent in various Italian courts, wrote most of his works, among others, various studies on philosophy and politics, a popular treatise on the language and the Divine Comedy, which ended shortly before he died in Ravenna in 1321.