He is mostly famous for having exiled from Florence Dante Alighieri, the famous poet, while serving as Podestà of that city (1301–1302). Dante took vengeance on him by giving Cante's disguised name to Rubicante, one of the Malebranche demons the poet encounters in the bolgia of barratry, as described in his masterwork the Divine Comedy (Inf. XXI vv. 118–123).[1]
Over the centuries, literati have recognized that Dante's condemnation to exile was the necessary catalyst for what is today regarded as the pre-eminent work in Italian literature, the most important poem of the Middle Ages, and one of the greatest works of world literature.[2][3] Along this line, in 1874Giosuè Carducci addressed a sonnet to Cante de' Gabrielli, acknowledging his role as the main responsible for Dante's inspiration (A Messer Cante Gabrielli da Gubbio, Podestà di Firenze nel MCCCI).[4]