The core of medieval Florence and more specifically the area between the church of “S. Martino” and “Piazza dei Donati”, was the 13th century location of the houses of the Alighieri family, as reported in many old documents. At the beginning of the 20th century, after several studies and researches, the Municipal Administration ordered the building of a house to celebrate the place of birth of Dante.

Today, the building is the seat of the House-Museum of Dante, which was reopened to the public on June 1st, 1994. The museum is arranged on three floors according to the three most important stages in his life.

The first floor displays a series of documents on some of the aspects of 13th century Florence and on the youth of Dante, on his christening in the "beautiful San Giovanni" (the “Baptistery of S. Maria del Fiore”), on his public life, on his election in the office of prior of the town and on his participation in political and military struggles (the plastic model representing the Battle of Campaldino and the reproductions of the weapons used at the time are very interesting .

The second floor exhibits documents relating to his painful exile of 1301, the year of his condemnation. After visiting several cities (Forli, Verona and Bologna), the poet decided to spend his last years at Ravenna where we would die (1321) in the home of Guido da Polenta.

The third floor offers a collection of documents concerning the iconography and fortune of Dante over the centuries, which are represented through excellent reproductions of works of art painted by important artists, ranging from the 14th century to the present-day. Reproductions include works by artists like Giotto, Beato Angelico, Andrea del Castagno, Ghirlandaio, Luca Signorelli, Raphael and Michelangelo.