Forese Donati
Encyclopedia
Forese Donati
Forese Donati, brother of Corso
and Piccarda Donati
, was a childhood friend of Dante Alighieri
. In their youth, Forese and Dante exchanged a series of playful sonnets called tenzone, which take the form of a series of exchanged insults.
In the Divine Comedy Dante encounters Forese on the sixth terrace of Purgatory, where the gluttonous are punished by being forced to starve for food and drink while passing past them, similar to the punishment of Tantalous. Dante barely recognizes Forese's emaciated face and his friend's state causes him great grief. He expresses surprise at Forese's salvation - he had died five years before - and at his quick advancement through the terraces of Purgatory. Forese praises his wife Nella, whose prayers have allowed him to pass quickly through Purgatory.
Forese maligns the provocatively-dressed Florentine women and predicts that more restrictive dress codes will soon be enforced in Florence
. Dante tells Forese of his journey through Hell and Purgatory, accompanied by Virgil
, and asks about Forese's sister Piccarda. Forese informs Dante that Piccarda is now in Heaven, and goes on to identify other prominent personages on the terrace of the gluttons. Before leaving Dante, Forese predicts the coming death of his brother Corso and his descent into Hell.
Forese Donati, brother of Corso
Corso Donati
Corso Donati was a leader of the Black Guelph faction in 13th- and early 14th- century Florence.-Bologna and Pistoia:In the late thirteenth century, power in Florence and the other Tuscan cities was divided between the Podestà, an outsider who served as chief magistrate, and the guildmasters; Corso...
and Piccarda Donati
Piccarda
Piccarda Donati was a 13th century Italian noblewoman. She appears as a character in Dante's classic Divine Comedy.Piccarda, sister of Corso Donati and of Dante's friend Forese Donati, is the first character Dante encounters in Paradise. She is on the Sphere of the Moon, the lowest sphere of Heaven...
, was a childhood friend of Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
. In their youth, Forese and Dante exchanged a series of playful sonnets called tenzone, which take the form of a series of exchanged insults.
In the Divine Comedy Dante encounters Forese on the sixth terrace of Purgatory, where the gluttonous are punished by being forced to starve for food and drink while passing past them, similar to the punishment of Tantalous. Dante barely recognizes Forese's emaciated face and his friend's state causes him great grief. He expresses surprise at Forese's salvation - he had died five years before - and at his quick advancement through the terraces of Purgatory. Forese praises his wife Nella, whose prayers have allowed him to pass quickly through Purgatory.
Forese maligns the provocatively-dressed Florentine women and predicts that more restrictive dress codes will soon be enforced in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
. Dante tells Forese of his journey through Hell and Purgatory, accompanied by Virgil
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
, and asks about Forese's sister Piccarda. Forese informs Dante that Piccarda is now in Heaven, and goes on to identify other prominent personages on the terrace of the gluttons. Before leaving Dante, Forese predicts the coming death of his brother Corso and his descent into Hell.