Guido I da Polenta

Guido I da Polenta, called Guido the Old (died 1310), was the Guelph lord who made the da Polenta family masters of Ravenna. The son of Lamberto da Polenta, he seized the city in 1275 with Malatesta cavalry, founding a signoria that lasted until 1441.

He fought Guido Riccio da Polenta for power and allied with the Malatesta against Guido da Montefeltro. He married his daughter Francesca to Giovanni Malatesta and took Cervia in 1282.

He abdicated in 1297 in favour of his sons Lamberto and Bernardino. Francesca, murdered by her husband, was immortalised in Dante's Inferno, and his grandson Guido Novello hosted Dante in Ravenna.