Cangrande I della Scala

Cangrande della Scala was an Italian nobleman, belonging to the della Scala family that ruled Verona from 1308 until 1387. He was indeed one of the most important characters at the time of signorie during the period where Italy divided in comuni. Now perhaps best known as the leading patron of the poet Dante Alighieri and featuring prominently in Giovanni Boccaccio's almost contemporary Decameron, Cangrande was in his own day chiefly acclaimed as a successful warrior and autocrat. Between becoming sole ruler of Verona in 1311 and his death in 1329 he took control of several neighbouring cities, notably Vicenza, Padua and Treviso, and came to be regarded as the leader of the Ghibelline faction in northern Italy.