Gemma Donati
Gemma Donati (c. 1267 – 1333) was the wife of Italian poet Dante Aligheri.
Biography
Gemma Donati was born to Manetto and Maria Donati in around 1265, two years after her future husband, Dante Alighieri. She was betrothed to Dante in 1277[1] when he was either 11[2] or 12 years old. Donati's family was wealthy; Dante's father had secured an alliance with the Donati through marriage. Since the Donati family owned a lot of land in Florence and made money through renting, it is very likely that the Donati were the landlords of the Aligheri house. The couple were married sometime around 1285 when they were in their early 20s.
Donati and Dante had four children:
- Giovanni (c. 1288)
- Pietro
- Iacapo
- Antonia (c. 1300)
Donati stayed with her daughter, Antonia, when Dante was exiled from Florence in 1301. She entered a convent in Ravenna later in her life.[3] Documents suggest that as June 1333 she was alive, however, her exact death date is unknown.
Bibliography
- ^ Hainsworth, Peter; David, Robbey (2015). Dante: A Very Short Introduction. OUP Oxford. ISBN 0191507679.
- ^ Wilson, A.N. (2011). Dante in Love. Atlantic Books Ltd. p. 56. ISBN 0857895818.
- ^ Ruud, Jay (2008). Critical Companion to Dante. New York: Infobase Publishing. p. 437. ISBN 1438108419.