Why Did Dante Die in Ravenna?

Florence in the thirteenth through the sixteenth centuries was fraught with battles between factions. Primarily the Guelphs and Ghibellines. The Guelphs support the Pope, who himself went from Rome to Avignon and eventually back again, and the Ghibellines who supported the Imperial forces from the Holy Roman Empire. Family killed off family. It led to even more internecine war between Black Guelphs and White Guelphs.

Expelled from Florence were the likes of Dante and Petrarch. Ending with the Medici and their own form of butchery, including if one likes the famous St Bartholomew's Day Massacre of Huguenots in Paris, under the influence of the Medici French Queen mother. One can best understand this Massacre by reading Dumas, his brilliant work on this event.

Thus, Civil Wars are not as simple as our own between North and South. It can occur between the first floor and the second floor. It can start over what Pope is best or whether one likes Germans or French, Pope or Emperor.

Perhaps a deep breath and a focus on Springtime may help.