Guido Guerra V (1220–1272) was a politician fromFlorence,Italy. Aligned with theGuelph faction, Guerra had a prominent role in the political conflicts of mid-thirteenth century Tuscany. He was admired byDante Alighieri, who granted him honor in theDivine Comedy, even though he placed Guerra in Hell among sinners ofsodomy.[1]
Descended from the house ofConti Guidi, Guerra was the son of Count Marcovaldo and Beatrice degli Alberti di Capraia, and grandson ofGuido Guerra IV andGualdrada de' Ravignani.[2][3] He succeeded his father as head of theDovadola branch of the family in 1229.[3]
Guerra was a Florentine politician, closely aligned with theGuelph faction. In the eleventh and thirteenth centuries, Florence was fought over by two rival factions, the Guelphs, who believed in the authority of the Church, and the Ghibellines, who believed in the authority of the monarchy and Empire.[4] Guerra was connected with the Catholic Church, as his political faction believed in the power of the Church, and he was supported and encouraged byPope Innocent IV.[3] In this role, Guido received the title ofCapitaneus pro Ecclesia ("Captain of the Church") in 1248.[3]
In 1258, the Guelphs held the power in Florence and expelled the Ghibellines from the city. Later on, the Ghibellines, led byProvenzano Salvani, retook Florence in one of the bloodiest battles in the history of medieval Italy, theBattle of Montaperti of 1260.[4] While in power, with fellow GuelphTegghiaio Aldobrandi, Guerra consuls the Florentines to not engage in open battle in Siena in the hopes of avoiding the defeat of Montaperti.[5] After the battle, Guerra found refuge in nearbyRomagna until he was able to return.[2]
A few years later, Guerra led an army of four hundred Florentine Guelphs, aided by the cavalry, in the reclaiming of Florentine from the Ghibellines, which culminated in theBattle of Benevento in 1266. In this battle, the Florentine Guelphs, helped byAnjou cavalry, succeeded in defeating the Ghibellines. In battle, they killed King Manfred, and thus reclaimed Florence.[4]
After the Battle of Benevento, Guerra continued to participate in the politics of Florence. He advocated for the inclusion of the middle class (popolo) in the city governance, but this reform was firmly ostracized and eventually revoked due to the pressure of the papal curia.[3] Having reached the end of his life, Guerra died in 1272 in his castle inMontevarchi, nearArezzo.[3]
Guerra appears as a character in Dante’sDivine Comedy inInferno, Canto XVI, when Dante and Virgil encounter those punished for sins of sodomy.[5] Guido appears accompanied by fellow Sodomites, Tegghiaio Aldobrandi andIacopo Rusticucci, who speaks for all three.[1]
According to Dante and medieval Christian views ofsexuality, the Sodomites sinned against nature, using practices designed for reproduction for other uses and pleasure. Sinners are not punished for homosexuality, but instead for sodomy, evidenced by the presence of homosexuals inPurgatory.[6] As such, their punishment is to run around on burning sand as they were unable to obey God's commandments regarding reproduction, misusing it for their own pleasure. They run under a rain of fire, a reflection upon the unnatural nature of their acts.[1]
Dante grants Guerra, Aldobrandi, and Rusticucci a measure of respect, and is moved by their suffering. He portrays them "good" men condemned to Hell.[5]
