Forese Donati

Who was Forese Donati?

Forese Donati

Donati, brother of Corso and Piccarda Donati, was a childhood friend of Dante Alighieri. In their youth, Forese and Dante exchanged a series of playful sonnets called tenzone, which take the form of a series of exchanged insults.

In the Divine Comedy Dante encounters Forese on the sixth terrace of Purgatory, where the gluttonous are punished by being forced to starve for food and drink while passing past them, similar to the punishment of Tantalus. Dante barely recognizes Forese's emaciated face and his friend's state causes him great grief. He expresses surprise at Forese's salvation - he had died five years before - and at his quick advancement through the terraces of Purgatory. Forese praises his wife Nella, whose prayers have allowed him to pass quickly through Purgatory.

Forese maligns the provocatively-dressed Florentine women and predicts that more restrictive dress codes will soon be enforced in Florence. Dante tells Forese of his journey through Hell and Purgatory, accompanied by Virgil, and asks about Forese's sister Piccarda. Forese informs Dante that Piccarda is now in Heaven, and goes on to identify other prominent personages on the terrace of the gluttons. Before leaving Dante, Forese predicts the coming death of his brother Corso and his descent into Hell.