Guido Guerra

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Guido Guerra is mentioned by Cacciaguida in Inferno XVI, 38: "Guido Guerra ebbe nome, e in sua vita". Son of Marcovaldo (or Ruggero), count of Dovadola, and identified as Guido Guerra VI dei conti Guidi, he was in the mid-thirteenth century among the leaders of the Guelph faction in Florence and distinguished himself above all as a condottiero. The standard notes recall that he drove the Ghibellines out of Arezzo in 1255 and that, an exile after Montaperti, he led the Florentine Guelph exiles at the battle of Benevento against Manfredi. The same notes emphasize how the mention of his name gains prominence because of the resonance it had in Florentine ears, making him almost a Farinata of the Guelph party. He is also presented as the nephew of the "buona Gualdrada", daughter of Bellincion Berti and wife of Guido il Vecchio, the founder of the conti Guidi, an exemplary figure of virtue.