In the little book Vita Nuova, it is not the often daunting greatness of the creator of the Divina Commedia that speaks to us, according to Goethe's judgment, nor that serious thinker and poet Dante Alighieri, who leads our imagination through the eternal pain of the damned in the hellish dungeons and through the purifying places of the hopeful in purgatory up to the bright, heavenly realm of the blessed. Here, in this debut work, we encounter the warm-blooded Florentine, the youthful troubadour filled with love for women and God, who tells us about the new life that began for him on the day when the first love awoke in his young heart. Those who do not merely skim over what Dante reveals about his love life here, but seek to delve deeper into the meaning of his often enigmatic words, will gradually notice and perhaps be inspired to explore further.