Dante begins to write in his Latin treatise "About the Monarchy" most probably in the last years of his life. In it he expounded the medieval scholastic theory of the universal monarchy with an edifying patho, analyzing in detail the relationship between the imperial and the papal monarchy. At the beginning of the first book of this treatise, the author declares that he has set out to investigate an important issue of great public importance that many have already thought: this is the essence of the monarchy. First, Dante formulates a general definition of the monarchic institution: the only principality that over time rises above all others and manages to solve all the emerging issues in the meantime. Then he predicts the three problems he intends to discuss: whether the monarchy is necessary for the well-being of the human race; whether the obligation to choose the monarch belongs rightly to the Roman people and whether imperial authority is given by God himself or through the mediation of the papal authority.
Dante states that the goal of society is to persuade a person to develop his intellectual power in both speculative and practical terms. It is recognized that in order to achieve this goal universal peace is needed, as is the second condition: in order to unleash the human spiritual power it is necessary that it be guided only by one person; by a single monarch to impose unity in the earthly society that reflects the unity achieved in the celestial state. It is necessary power over individual parts, cities, principals, to be taken only by the Emperor, in order to put an end to the disputes between rulers and peoples. It is also necessary to use universal support, to be able to apply its highest will and to use the greatest possible power to bring justice to society. The unlimited expansion of the territory on which he exercises his own justice actually frees the Emperor from the shameful greed that Aristotle regards as the greatest obstacle that comes to justice. The third condition, after peace and justice, which is necessary for man to achieve perfection is freedom. Elected on top of all political and legal institutions (designed above all to ensure the independence of the individual), the emperor is actually a spiritual mentor to all, the supreme guardian of human freedom.
After specifying that the authority of the imperial authority extends to all subjects, that they guard the collective interests of the individual communities, that the well-being of the people depends on the agreement reached among them, Dante brings to the end of the first book in "About the Monarchy" proof to defend the universal earthly monarchy: Christ is waiting for the epoch in which, on account of the wise rule of Octavian Augustus, a total political unity has been achieved on earth to be embodied in the body of an earthly man. In the second book of the same treatise, Dante is discussing the second problem: whether the obligation to elect the ruler of the earthly monarchy belongs rightly to the Roman people. The author confessed to the reader that for some time he believed that the heirs of Enei had become masters of the world thanks to their military success but later convinced that the victories of the Roman army had been predetermined by God's providence which imposed unconditionally the superiority of Ancient Rome over the other countries. After affirming the coincidence of God's will with the law, Dante is committed to relying on the "signs" that appear constantly in the Scriptures and in ancient history, which impose the conviction that the Roman Empire is a creation of God's purpose.
Exceeding the nobility of every other people, the Roman people, as it originates from a glorified ancient family and honors as its father-in-law the noble of origin and character Eney, establishes its power through a series of miraculous events. He is constantly committed to achieving the universal well-being of every just justice. In this way the Romans prove the legality of their superiority over the other peoples.
