Italian Poet Dante Alighieri’s Face Reconstructed Using His Skull; ‘Divine Comedy’ Author’s Facial Approximation Shows ‘Embittered’ Man

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Anfiteatro de Villa)
Italian Poet Dante Alighieri's Face Reconstructed Using His Skull; 'Divine Comedy' Author's Facial Approximation Shows 'Embittered' Man

Dante Alighieri is seen for the first time in 700 years with a face reconstructed from his skull. However, the Italian poet's facial reconstruction doesn't appear happy.

Dante Alighieri's Facial Reconstruction

The face of the man who gave us our vision of hell can be seen for the first time after seven centuries years. Scientists created a facial reconstruction using his skull.

Dante was catapulted to fame because his work, "The Divine Comedy," chronicled a voyage into purgatory, hell, and heaven. The masterpiece made Dante famous in literature.

The most well-known portraits of the artist were made long after his passing. Thus, his true identity remains a mystery, even with his lasting influence.

By digitally recreating the appearance of the literary legend using Dante's skull, a new study has shown what the man himself looked like.

The study's lead author, Brazilian graphics expert Cicero Moraes, explained why traditional representations of the poet fell short. According to him, the majority of definitions of the Italian poet are predicated on the details found in writer Boccaccio's biography of Dante. Specifically, he was a man of average height, a little hunched over, with a long face, an aquiline nose, and larger-than-average eyes.

However, Boccaccio did not know Dante directly and only gathered accounts from those acquainted with the poet and shared a home with him. The graphic artist specialist stated that although all approximations reflect Boccaccio's descriptions, they aim to produce what the bones imply.

Using the 1921 analysis of his bones, they created Dante's skull and added data from a 2007 article describing his face. After that, they moved on to face approximation, which entails projecting several lines based on statistical information from CT and ultrasound examinations and then intersecting those lines with the anatomical distortion.

Anatomical deformation occurs when a live donor's digital face is distorted to fit the donor's skull, resulting in "a face compatible with that of the poet in life."

Two sets of photos were created: one in grayscale, without hair, and with closed eyes, while the other used an objective method. Another is based on the most well-known photos, which are colored and have subjective components like the hue of the skin, eyes, and clothes.

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Brilliant Dante Looked 'Embittered'

According to the researchers, Dante had a bigger-than-average skull. There was a debate about whether he was endowed with a larger brain for greater intelligence because he was a genius based on his works. He was even considered the father of Italian language.

His photo showed that of a "brilliant" man. However, despite his achievements, the poet reportedly appeared "embittered by exile."

Dante was initially banished from Florence for two years in 1302 when he refused to pay a fine, and he was later charged with corruption and financial mismanagement. Soon after, he was given a lifetime ban and threatened with beheading or stake death if he went back. Dante refused any pardon that required him to admit guilt against the city he cherished.

The poet lived a nomadic life for the following 20 years, accepting invitations from friends to travel across Tuscany and other places or going on diplomatic missions at other people's request. He lived out his latter years in the Adriatic city of Ravenna, where he succumbed to malaria in 1321.