The ways of Dante: San Godenzo

The Cammino di Dante is an itinerary of about 380 kilometers, which retraces an ideal path that Dante Alighieri, exiled from the city of Florence, made at the beginning of the fourteenth century between Tuscany and Romagna. The name of the town in question derives from San Gaudenzio, a hermit in the early Middle Ages who had retired to these mountains to lead a life of prayer; later the Abbey was built on his tomb. At the time of Dante, San Godenzo was inside the possessions of the Counts Guidi, who most likely hosted the Supreme Poet during a famous political and military conference in 1302; this meeting marked the beginning of Dante's period of exile from Florence. The place that inspired the famous opening of the Divine Comedy would be found right near this fortress. Every year, since 1991, the evocative historical re-enactment of Dante Ghibellino has been held in San Godenzo; it recalls the Convention of the Guelphs and Ghibellines in the Abbey of San Godenzo in June 1302.