Durante degli Alighieri, usually referred to simply as Dante was born in Italy, and lived from c. 1265 to c. 1321. He was a major poet during the Middle Ages. He wrote the famouse Divine Comedy, which was originally called Comedia (modern Italian: Commedia). The work was later christened Divina by Boccaccio. It is widely considered the greatest literary work composed in the Italian language and a masterpiece of world literature. In the late Middle Ages, the overwhelming majority of poetry was written in Latin, and therefore accessible only to affluent and educated audiences. In De vulgari eloquentia/On Eloquence in the Vernacular, however, Dante defended use of the vernacular in literature.. Dante's depictions of Hell, Purgatory and Heaven have provided inspiration for a large body of Western art, influencing the likes of, among many others."