Dante Alighieri is accused of corruption in political office, like others from the White Guelphs political party. who supported independence for the city-state and were not aligned with the Pope.
Dante's sentence was a hefty fine, banishment for two years from Florence and permanent exclusion from public office. Dante refused any pardon that required him to admit guilt against the city he loved and later that year, he was banned for life and threatened with execution if he returned. While in exile, he wrote his best-known epic poem, "The Divine Comedy". The poet never returned to Florence and died of malaria 20 years later in Ravenna on the Adriatic coast.
