<em>In his epic poem known as the Divine Comedy, Dante creates a fictional ... of books—including illustrated books—became a reality, Dante's imagination, ... Florence was full of artistic marvels well before the Renaissance. Incredible works of art and architecture filled the city well before Dante's birth in late medieval times.</em>
The author is trying to say that it's worthless to be classified as a citizen if you cannot vote, just as it is worthless to have a boat if you have no oars.
