Bronze bust of Italian poet Dante Alighieri (c. 1265-1321) in front of the medieval Castle of the Guidi Counts, or Castello dei Conti Guidi, at Poppi, Tuscany, Italy. The castle was built around 1274 and the small square building behind Dante’s head, the Munition Tower or Antiporta della Munizione, was added in the 1400s.
Poppi, Tuscany, Italy: a bronze bust of the poet Dante Alighieri (c. 1265-1321) by the Munition Tower entrance to the medieval Castello dei Conti Guidi (Castle of the Guidi Counts). It recalls Dante’s part in the nearby Battle of Campaldino in 1289. Dante, then aged 24, is believed to have fought in the victorious Florentine Guelph cavalry against Ghibelline forces from the city of Arezzo, a triumph that made Florence the leading power in Tuscany. Castello dei Conti Guidi was a fortress built around 1274 for Count Simone di Battifolle, head of the powerful Guidi family. Externally, it resembles Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio town hall, and it may have been a prototype for that 1299 design by Arnolfo di Cambio. The Antiporta della Munizione, a small square building seen here in the background, was added in the late 1400s as an outer defence and is now the castle’s main entrance.
Size: 2829px × 2829px
Location: Castello dei Conti Guidi, Castle of the Guidi Counts, Poppi, Tuscany, Italy
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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