The New Life (La Vita Nuova)

"La Vita Nuova" is the first of two collections of verse and prose written by the Italian poet, Dante Alighieri (1265-1321). Since the Middle Ages, Dante has been cherished as the "Supreme Poet," or simply il Poeta, of Italy, and is most widely recognized for his allegorical "Divina Commedia". "La Vita Nuova" contains works written over a period of ten years, from before 1283 to roughly 1293, and is the semi-autobiographical account of Dante's lifelong love for a woman he called Beatrice. It exp