Dante is condemned to exile for two years, and ordered to pay a large fine.

The poet is still in Rome, where the Pope had "suggested" he stay, and is therefore considered an absconder.

He does not pay the fine, in part because he believes he is not guilty, and in part because all his assets in Florence have been seized by the Black Guelphs.

He is now condemned to perpetual exile, and if he returns to Florence without paying the fine, he can be burned at the stake. (The city council of Florence will finally pass a motion rescinding Dante's sentence in June 2008.)

Those who are not connected to either side, or who have no connections to either Guelphs or Ghibellines, consider both factions unworthy of support but are still affected by the change of power in their respective cities.