The Encounter with Cacciaguida and Prophecy of Banishment

Dante and Beatrice ascend to the sphere of Mars, where the souls of martyrs and crusaders form a cross. A soul descends from the cross and speaks to Dante; it is his great-great-grandfather, Cacciaguida. Cacciaguida describes the simple and virtuous life of old Florence and recounts his own life: he was baptized in the Baptistery, married a woman from the Po valley, followed Emperor Conrad on crusade, and was killed by the Saracens. He prophesies Dante's exile from Florence, describing the bitterness of another's bread and the difficulty of another's stairs. He names Dante's first refuge as the court of Bartolomeo della Scala in Verona. This episode is the emotional heart of the Paradiso, connecting Dante's personal destiny with the history of Florence.