Boniface VIII: The Pope Dante Hated Most and How He Haunts the Commedia
Dante Alighieri had a lot of enemies. But none burned hotter than Pope Boniface VIII. The pontiff ruled from 1294 to 1303—precisely when Dante’s life came apart. In 1302, Boniface backed the Black Guelphs, the political faction that exiled the poet from Florence. Dante never returned home. That wound never healed. But the personal betrayal … Read more