Museo Casa di Dante

Most scholars believe Dante was born here in Via Dante Alighieri. The poet himself only mentions the neighbourhood: San Piero, the sixth of Florence’s six sestrieri. If this was indeed the street, young Dante would have had a good seat for festivals; medieval Florence had a Palio, like Siena’s, and this street was part of the course.

In 1911, one of its houses was declared the Casa di Dante. Although the house was actually new, built over the ruins of an amputated tower house of the Giuochi family, scholars at least agreed that the Alighieri lived somewhere close by.

Fancifully restored in 1960, and again in the 2000's, this museum has made a game attempt to evoke Dante’s life and times. There is a model of Florence as it was in the 13th century, and mock-ups of the Battle of Campaldino, where Dante fought as a soldier. Near the entrance is an edition of The Divine Comedy, all printed in tiny letters on a poster by a mad Milanese.