Why did Boccaccio write the Life of Dante?

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Italian literature Portrait of Italian poet Dante Alighieri.

Giovanni Boccaccio wrote the Life of Dante (also known as the Trattatello in laude di Dante, or "Little Treatise in Praise of Dante") primarily as an expression of his profound devotion to the memory of Dante Alighieri.12

While Boccaccio became a central figure in the development of humanism alongside Petrarch, his enduring enthusiasm for his immediate predecessors—particularly Dante—distinguished him from his contemporary. This work, along with his later commentary on the Inferno, serves as a testament to that admiration and his commitment to preserving Dante's legacy within the tradition of Italian literature.12