In which year was Dante exiled from Florence?

Dante was exiled from Florence in 1302, after the city’s political power shifted to the Black Guelphs.

Dante was a White Guelph, a faction that favored greater independence for Florence from papal intervention. In late 1301, Charles of Valois entered Florence with the support of Pope Boniface VIII, helping the Black Guelphs take control. Their new government pursued opponents, including Dante.

In January 1302, Dante was condemned in absentia, fined, and barred from public office on accusations including corruption and financial wrongdoing. When he did not pay the fine and failed to return, the sentence was intensified. By March 1302, he faced perpetual exile and the threat of execution by burning if captured in Florence.

Dante spent the rest of his life moving among Italian courts and patrons, including Verona and Ravenna, and never returned to Florence. The city later built a tomb for him in the Basilica of Santa Croce, but it remains empty: Dante’s remains are buried in Ravenna. The year 1300 is often confused with his exile because he served as a Florentine prior that year.