He is well known for the epic poem La Commedia, which was eventually renamed La Divina Commedia (The Divine Comedy). Dante's Divine Comedy, a milestone in Italian literature and one of the greatest masterpieces of medieval European literature, is a deep Christian view of humanity's temporal and eternal fate. The work consists of three parts dealing with sin, salvation, and heaven/hell. In addition to his literary career, Dante also served as an ambassador for Italy during its years of exile under French rule. Dante Alighieri was born on April 25th, 1265 in Florence, Italy. His father was a wealthy notary public by the name of Alighiero di Dante Alighieri. His mother was Beatrice di Troiano dei Conti di Brademaggio. They had two more children who survived childhood: a brother named Buondelmonte who died at age 14; and a sister named Gemma who married Rainaldo Ghibellino di San Giuliano. After her marriage, Gemma moved to France where she lived out her life in captivity because of her political views; she never returned to Italy. At the age of 18, after completing his studies at the University of Florence, Dante started his own business and four years later he became one of the representatives of the government of Florence.