Person

Name: Beatrice

Birth Date: 1266

Death Date: 1290

Description: Woman celebrated in the Vita Nuova and Commedia, she is Dante's inspiration and spiritual guide in the later work. Dante's Beatrice is generally identified as Beatrice Portinari, the daughter of a banker and wife of Simone dei Bardi, who died at the age of 24. In the Comedy Beatrice is an image of absolute perfection and functions as an intermediary in Dante's ascent to God. Without Beatrice Dante's Comedy would not exist.