Giovanni Mochi - Dante Alighieri in atto di presentare Giotto a Guido da Polenta

Guido I da Polenta (died 1310) was lord of

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

from 1275 until his abdication in 1297. The son of Lamberto da Polenta, he was ousted from Ravenna by the imperial troops in 1240. When the city was returned to the Papal States in 1248, Guido was able to return and was made chief of the local council. In 1270, after the death of Bishop Felix, he divided the power in the city and that of

Comacchio Comacchio (; ) is a town and ''comune'' of Emilia Romagna, Italy, in the province of Ferrara, from the provincial capital Ferrara. It was founded about two thousand years ago; across its history it was first governed by the Exarchate of Ravenna, ...

with Guido Riccio da Polenta, in collaboration with the other major Ravennate family, the Traversari. However, Guido and Guido Riccio soon were at war, and Guido allied with the Malatesta of Rimini in order also to counter

Guido I da Montefeltro Guido da Montefeltro (1223 – 29 September 1298) was an Italian military strategist and lord of Urbino. He became a friar late in life, and was condemned by Dante Alighieri in his ''Divine Comedy'' for giving false or fraudulent counsel. Bio ...

who had conquered

Forlì Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...

and

Cervia Cervia () is a seaside resort town in the province of Ravenna, located in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. Cervia is a major seaside resort in Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Its population was 28,983 at the 2023 census. It is mainly ...

. Through this alliance Guido was able to gain the complete seigniory of Ravenna. The marriage of his daughter

Francesca Francesca is an Italian female given name, derived from the Latin male name ''Franciscus'' meaning 'the Frenchman' It is widely used in most Romance languages, including Italian, French and Catalan, and place of origin is Italy. It is derived ...

with

Giovanni Malatesta Giovanni Malatesta (died 1304), also known as Giovanni, lo Sciancato ("the Lame"), sometimes also called by the diminutive ''Gianciotto'', was the second son of Malatesta da Verucchio of Rimini. Biography From 1275 onwards he played an active ...

caused a revolt in the city, whose outcome was the expulsion of the Traversari. In 1282 he took part to the offensive of the Pope against Guido da Montefeltro, and was able to gain Cervia in the fray. In 1290 he was elected ''

podestà (), also potestate or podesta in English, was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of central and northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a c ...

'' of

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. In 1293 Guido Riccio died, and Guido added Comacchio to the family's territories. At his abdication in 1297 he was succeeded by his sons Lamberto and Bernardino. Guido's grandson, Guido Novello, was the host of

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guido 01 Da Polenta Polenta, Guido 1 Guido 1 13th-century Italian nobility Year of birth unknown Lords of Ravenna

See also

References